US Open- Week 1

We're already half way through the last grand slam of the year. Hasn't it gone fast?! So far the tournament has been pretty interesting. I can't feel like I can totally enjoy the open this year for me, due to Rafa not being here. The tournament is defiantly lacking that excitement that he brings. However, i'm sure there are some excellent matches to come.

The top mens seeds are playing well. Novak seems to have snapped out of whatever was causing his earlier struggles in Toronto and Cincinnati. Roger is playing very well, I'm impressed by Berdych too, he did well to come through a very tough 2nd round with Klizan.

Dimitrov is playing very comfortably this week, he's into the 4th Round with good wins so far. All straight sets apart from his 3rd Round with Goffin.

I'm feeling very proud of Robredo this week too. 32 years old and still hanging around, proving that experience prevails over young gun Kygrios. Tommy is now into the 4th Round, after fighting through 3, 4 and 5 set matches.

Raonic survives so far, after a very tough match against Estrella Burgos in Round 3. He won in straights, but needed 3 tiebreaks to pick up the win. He will play Nishikori next, who has been playing well.

David Ferrer was beaten by Gilles Simon in a 4 setter in the 3rd Round. David had been struggling all week and it seemed like his body finally got the better of him. His back was taped, and he looked unwell to me. Unfortunate.

Andy Murray is still in the running, he has had a few struggles so far, especially in his 4 set match vs Haase in Round 1. He's still here though, and playing with determination.

Thiem played Gulbis, who he beat in 5 sets. Ernests was not in a good physical condition, he needed treatment on his back, and his knee was feeling the pressure as well as his head. Dominic Thiem was great though, he kept plugging away and was rewarded in the end. He beat Lopez in straight sets in Round 3.

After this first week on the men's side, we know that Novak is back to normal, and will most likely have a very good run in New York. He's winning easily in straight sets, and the doubts seem to have floated away. It's not a confirmed win yet though. The draw is becoming interesting…

When it comes to the women's draw, it's been a little more interesting. The first top seed to go, was Radwanska. Simona Halep is also out. She's battled hard this week, but Lucic-Baroni prevailed in Round 3, only to be beaten by Sara Errani in the next round.

Wozniacki is looking very good, she had a very comfortable win over Petkovic in the 3rd round. She also beat Sharapova to reach the QFs. She has been playing excellently this week.

Serena is playing fabulously again, having comfortable straight sets wins over all American opponents! Venus was not so happy however, she lost her 3rd Round match to Sara Errani.

The young women's players are really impressing at this grand slam. 15 year old Cici Bellis famously knocked out Cibulkova in round 1, but couldn't back up the victory.

Belinda Bencic, another rising star took out Kerber and Jankovic.

Aleksandra Krunic, the 21 year old Serbian, has taken out Madison Keys and Petra Kvitova so far. Her play is impressive, and we're likely to see a lot more of her in the future.

I'm interested to see how the rest of the tournament goes, who knows what else will happen?! If I've missed any players- sorry! Have a wonderful week everyone, enjoy the open.

@rafanadaladdict

The New Generation

There's a lot of talk lately about the new generation of tennis stars. The big 4 have now been around a while, and even though they're not finished yet, a new line of potential stars are emerging. The likes of Dimitrov, Raonic and Dolgopolov have come onto the scene the past year or two and are giving us a LOT of entertainment.

This year's Wimbledon semi finals were Djokovic v Dimitrov and Federer v Raonic. 

The big guys came through and reached the final, but it wasn't without a struggle, especially when envolving Dimitrov. 

I have been incredibly impressed with Grigor Dimitrov. A 23 year old youngster from Bulgaria, challenging Novak Djokovic, the number 1 seed, at his first grand slam semi final. Pretty impressive. Dimitrov only got 1 set off Djokovic, but a 4th set tiebreak saw him come very close to taking another. Some impressive serves and backhand slices were whipped around the court, but Djokovic handled them well, as per usual. A shocking couple of service games told us more about Dimi's inexperience. One game featured 3 double faults IN A ROW. At the moment the difference between the top guys and the challengers is that, the likes of Nadal and Djokovic make mistakes occasionally, not all in one go. 

Dimitrov has a lot to learn, but he defiantly has incredible potential. A future number 1 for sure.

Milos Raonic has been a feature of the ATP tour for a while now, making his first grand slam semi final today against Federer. In true Roger style however, he crafted up a win in straight sets. 

Nick Kyrgios has impressed at this Wimbledon too. He beat Nadal in round 4 in 4 sets and Richard Gasquet. His HUGE serve is his biggest weapon, but perhaps his only weapon. If it was taken away I wonder how those matches would have turned out?

Alexandr Dolgopolov has had some notable matches recently too. He beat Nadal in Indian Wells 2014. With his quick and agile footwork, he can defiantly produce some pretty amazing shots. One to watch.

Ernests Gulbis, number 10 seed emerging onto the scene. He beat Roger Federer in a thrilling French Open match this year, storming up the rankings. 

On the women's side, Eugenie Bouchard has seriously impressed me this year. She's reached semi finals in the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon. Yesterday, she set up a 2014 Wimbledon Final with Petra Kvitova. Genie is only 20 years old, and is a new, impressive, fresh faced star of the future, already at a ranking of 13. 

Another WTA that has made a big impact is Simona Halep. Only 22 years old and already number 3 in the rankings. She made it to the Roland Garros final this year, to be runner up to Sharapova. 

The new era of tennis is certainly very exciting, and I can't wait to see how the next few years turn out. However, not so fast kids. Nadal, Djokovic, Federer and Murray are not finished yet. With a total of 39 grand slam titles between them, there's no denying the current generation of tennis is one of the best ever. 

Let's see how the next few years pan out, i'm excited.

Grace.