MEMORABLE DAY

Yesterday was a memorable day for the tennis legend Roger Federer. Not because he won something big and created history, it’s because the Swiss football club FC Basel pulled off a big upset as they got better of Chelsea in a Champions League encounter at Stamford Bridge.

Now, if you are thinking what the relationship between Federer and FC Basel is, let me tell you he is one of the most passionate fans of this football club. He hardly misses any game that Basel plays and yesterday was really a special day for him. He expressed his delight on Twitter after Basel’s victory.

The Swiss maestro wrote on his Twitter account, “It was a great day for all the FC Basel Fans. I am feeling glad.”

Chelsea was the hot favourite to win this game and their start was up to the expectations. They were the ones who took the lead and they maintained that lead till the 70th minute, but, they seemed to have taken it a bit too easy towards the end and ended up conceding 2 goals in the last 20 minutes which secured Basel’s win.

When Chelsea had faced Basel at St. Jakob Park in the first leg of the Europa League semi final last season, Federer had predicted the outcome of the game. He had said that it would be a tight game, but, Basel would pull it off by 2-1. That prediction proved to be wrong at that time, but, it eventually proved to be true after a gap of 5 months.

The stand-out performers for Basel in yesterday’s game were Marco Streller and Mohamed Salah. Both these players scored one goal each.

FC Basel’s next Champions League game is against Schalke 04 on 1st of October.

SWEDISH OPEN WIN

Serena Williams has won the Swedish Open by getting better of the local girl Johanna Larsson in the final match on Sunday. Serena won the match in the straight sets by 6-4, 6-1.

Serena was struggling a lot at the start against Larsson. She got trailed a couple of times in the first set, but, she settled into her groove as the match went on and then, took his opponent apart.

Talking to the reporters after winning the title, Serena said, “In the beginning, I played a lot of bad shots and put myself under a bit of pressure. But, thankfully, I managed to bounce back.”

“I didn’t want to be making the same mistakes that I had made at Wimbledon. I want to go all the way in the tournament here in Sweden.”

Serena was not off to a great start in the opening set. Her serve was broken a couple of times in the first 7 games and she was trailing by 3-4 when the 7th game got over.

But, after that, she lifted the standard of her game and with the help of two successive breakthroughs (in the 8th and the 10th game), she won the next 3 games in a row to seal the set.

In the second set, Serena was in her zone. She absolutely demolished the Swedish youngster. With a flurry of winners, she bagged 6 out of the first 7 games and finished off the set in no time to win the title.

This was the third time that Larsson was making appearance in a WTA final. On all the three occasions, she has lost.

In the post match interview, Larsson said, “I am gutted to have ended up on the losing side in another final. I didn’t manage to be consistent throughout the match.”

WILLIAMS FALLS

Serena Williams has been defeated by Sabine Lisicki of Germany in the 4th round of the Wimbledon Championships. Lisicki won the match by 6-2, 1-6, 6-4.

This was a huge upset. Serena was the defending champion and nobody had expected her to be knocked out this early. But, she got completely outsmarted by Lisicki.

In the post match interview, Serena said, “I think I committed mistakes during crucial moments. I could have done much better. I am absolutely gutted at the moment.”

Serena was on a winning streak of 34 matches before coming into this match. She was considered as top favourite, but, she looked clumsy and her performance was ordinary for most parts of the match.

On the other hand, Lisicki was at her best. She made a few mistakes in the second set, but, barring that, she was fantastic. The confidence with which she took on a champion player like Serena was incredible.

In the post match interview, Lisicki said, “I knew that it would be a big challenge, but, I was positive. I just went out there and tried to do the basics right. It came off well.”

In the first set, Lisicki was at the top of her game. She held her entire serves and sneaked a couple of breakthroughs (in the 5th and the 7th game) to grab the opener by 6-2.

In the second set, Serena went absolutely ballistic. The first couple of games went with the serve and the scores were levelled at 1-1 when the second game got over. After that, Lisicki couldn’t win even a single game in the set. Her serve was broken thrice consecutively and she lost the set by 1-6.

Serena carried on the momentum in the decider as well and with a breakthrough in the 2nd game, she was off to a lead of 3-0.

Lisicki pulled things back with a serve hold in the 4th game and a breakthrough in the 5th game, but, she lost her serve again in the 6th game and got trailed by 2-4.

However, the German player kept her cool and played brilliant tennis at that crucial juncture. With two consecutive breakthroughs, she won the next 4 games in a row and sealed the set by 6-4 to win the match.

WILLIAMS BEATS AZARENKA

Serena Williams has defeated Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the final of Internazionali BNL d’Italia. Serena won the match in the straight sets by 6-1, 6-3.

Serena was the top favourite to win this tournament as she was the top seeded player and the American veteran lived up to the expectations. She overpowered her Belarusian opponent in the final in just 1 hour and 33 minutes and won the 51st WTA title of her career.

Serena has been in fantastic form off late. This was her 24th consecutive victory.

Against Azarenka, this was Serena’s 12th win in 14 matches.

In the post match interview, Serena said, “This was my best performance in the tournament. I felt quite comfortable out there on the court and capitalized on the chances that I got.”

Serena was off to a great start in the first set. She got a couple of breakthroughs in the first three games and got ahead by 3-0.

The American veteran dropped her serve in the 4th game, but, that didn’t make much of a difference. She broke her opponent’s serve in the 5th and the 7th game again and won the next three games successively to seal the set by 6-1.

In the second set, there were no breakthroughs in the first 5 games and Serena was ahead by 3-2 when the 5th game got finished.

Azarenka’s serve was broken in the 6th game which increased Serena’s lead to 4-2. However, Serena lost her advantage soon as she was broken back in the very next game.

Azarenka had the opportunity to equalize the scores by holding her serve in the 8th game, but, she couldn’t do that. She dropped her serve for the second time in the set and got trailed by 3-5.

Serena wrapped up the match by serving out the next game comfortably and won the title.

FOOTBALL FANATIC FEDERER

Roger Federer has said that he will be in the stands of St. Jakob Park to watch the Europa League semi final match between FC Basel and Chelsea.

The first leg of the semi final clash between Chelsea and Basel will be played at St. Jakob Park on Thursday and Federer will be out there to cheer for the home team.

FC Basel made its way into the final 4 of this tournament by defeating Tottenham Hotspur in the previous round. Nobody had expected them to do that, but, they put up a couple of stunning performances and surprised everybody.

When asked about the upcoming first leg semi final match between Basel and Chelsea, Federer said, “It’s a huge game for the whole Switzerland. The stadium will be jam packed and I will be there as well. I am a diehard Basel fan and I really want them to go on and win this competition.”

“Chelsea is a good team, but, I don’t think they will be able to defeat us on our home ground. I think we will pull it off by 2-1. That’s my prediction.”

“We are not the favourites. So, the pressure is not on us. The pressure is on them and it has happened very often that the favourite teams choke in such big games. Hopefully, the same will happen with Chelsea on Thursday.”

When asked about his favourite player in Basel side, Federer said, “It’s Marco Streller. He is a fine striker and a great leader as well. Also, he is one of those guys who always fire in big matches. He will be a crucial player for Basel in Thursday’s match.”

Federer has been a Basel fan since his childhood days and he follows almost all the matches of Basel.

WILLIAMS WINS

Serena Williams has defeated Ayumi Morita of Japan in the third round of the ongoing Sony Open. Serena won the match in the straight sets by 6-3, 6-3. It took the world no. 1 American superstar just 75 minutes to defeat Morita.

Serena used a bicycle to reach Crandon Park from her hotel for this match. This was because there was huge traffic jam in Miami and it was impossible for Serena to reach the court on time if she had opted to use a car. So, she decided to use a bicycle.

After the match, Serena said, “The traffic jam was really big and I didn’t have too much time. So, I asked the hotel staff for a golf cart, but, they didn’t have that. They offered me a motorbike, but, I don’t generally use motorbike. So, I didn’t take that option. Then, they offered me a bicycle. That sounded like a good idea.”

“It was really wonderful. Reaching the court by using a bicycle and then, winning the match convincingly. I will never forget this experience.”

When asked about her opponent, Serena said, “I have faced her a few times and she is a very tough competitor. She never gives up and has got fantastic concentration skills.”

Morita broke Serena’s serve in the 2nd game of the first set and took a lead of 2-0. The Japanese player served out the 3rd game and enhanced her lead to 3-0. Serena was really in a spot of bother at that stage.

After playing poorly in the first three games, Serena gathered her focus back and took Morita apart thereafter. She got breakthroughs in the 5th, 7th and 9th game and won the first set by 6-3.

In the second set, Serena broke Morita’s serve only once i.e.in the 6th game. That serve break gave her a lead of 4-2. Thereafter, she just won her remaining service games and won the second set by the same margin of 6-3.