Close one for Gasquet, almost winning against Istomin

Richard Gasquet has made his way in round no. 2 in the ongoing BNP Paribas Masters Tennis tournament. He was very close to winning his match against Denis Istomin in the opening round when the Russia international decided to pull out because of his troubled knee.

After having lost the first set in tie breaker, Gasquet had come back to win the second one comfortably by 6-2 and then, in the decider, he was leading by 4-0.

This win of Gasquet made the spectators smile eventually there in Paris.

Before Gasquet, a lot of local players had lost their matches and had been knocked out from the opening round leaving the crowd disappointed.

It appeared as if Gasquet was also going the same way when he played some shocking shots in that first set tie-breaker, but, thereafter, he improved his game and ensured he would not let any upset get created.

As far as Istomin is concerned, he had trouble in his knees from the first set itself, but, he carried on. However, with the movement on the court, it kept getting worse and worse for him and in the final set, he had had enough.

He spent a lot of time with his medical staff in the middle of that set though trying to get his problem sorted out, but, eventually, he made the call that the pain was too much.

It was the 5^th time in 6 matches that Gasquet beat Istomin.

Facing Gasquet in the following round will be Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain who is higher in rankings than him. The Spaniard is at no. 11 and that’s why, he did not play the opening round as he had a bye.

Gasquet, being out of top 16 in the world rankings, did not get the bye.

Navratilova Thinks Serena Had Other Reason For Drop Out

Martina Navratilova, one of the greatest tennis players of all time, doesn’t think that Serena Williams left her doubles match at All England Club last week because of some sort of viral infection.

The former Czech player reckons the real reason behind the withdrawal of the American superstar was something else.

Speaking to a website, Navratilova said, “Serena was not in the perfect physical and mental state, that was clear, but, I am not sure it was a viral infection. Whatever that was though, we should just hope for her quick recovery, but, I do believe the real thing hasn’t come out.”

“I saw the statement of her coach and he was like he didn’t have any idea what happened. That’s ridiculous. A coach doesn’t happen to be this irresponsible.”

“First and foremost, Serena should not have gone into the match provided the condition she was in. It seemed to be almost impossible for her to compete. She was struggling to make connection.”

Before that doubles match, Serena had been defeated by Alize Cornet of France in the Round of 3 in the singles competition and according to Navratilova, it’s the disappointment of that loss which might have taken Serena in a bad state of mind, but, if that was the case, she should have withdrawn straightaway rather than creating that sort of dramatic situation.

In the Words of Navratilova who herself won a total of 18 Grand Slam titles, “If you have an issue, you shouldn’t go out there. That’s fair enough. But, once you step out, you should try your best to get through the match. It doesn’t matter if there is something that’s hurting you from inside or you are gutted because of a defeat; you’ve got to make it through. That’s what I think.”

Youzhny Wins First Match

Kafelnikov’s countryman, Mikhail Youzhny, won his first match in the Swiss Open yesterday and made his way into the Round of 8. He defeated Kenny De Schepper of France in the straight sets by 6-3, 6-4.

Now, for a place in the semis, Youzhny will be up against Robin Haase of Netherlands.

Haase advanced to the quarter finals by getting better of the local boy Henri Laaksonen in a hard fought contest.

Youzhny and Haase had faced each other in the title round of this tournament last year. The Russian had managed to clinch the title by emerging victorious in that match.

So, Haase would definitely be looking for revenge. It would be difficult for him to do that though given Youzhny’s recent form.

Youzhny had looked like returning to form towards the end of the clay court season itself as he had reached the Round of 4 in the tournament in Stuttgart. Now, it seems that he has hit peak form and he would surely be the favourite going into the match against Haase.

Talking to the reporters after securing win against Schepper, Youzhny said, “You always feel nervous before the opening game, no matter where you are playing and who is there to face you. Thankfully, I did well, got a couple of breakthroughs and did alright on the serve too.”

“I have been hampered by injuries this season; but I can still make it a decent season for me if I remain consistent in the remaining tournaments.”

Youzhny is presently out of top 75 in the world rankings. He is at the 79^th position. He can make big strides in the rankings in the near future though, but, for that, he needs to defend his crown successfully at Gstaad.

Serena Williams finds pleasure in other activities after being ousted from the French Open 2014

Serena Williams is apparently celebrating her life post her defeat before the fourth round from the French Open 2014. She is mingling with Caroline Wozniacki who is also ousted from the French Open 2014. On May 31 apparently Serena was sighted at the beach with Wozniacki.

The two girls seemed inseparable as they spent time at the Miami Beach and the pictures clearly showed that Serena has no inhibitions and a free spirited girl who loves to enjoy and considers loss as part and parcel of life. Serena was also spotted in a club of Miami as an undisclosed guest where Caroline Wozniacki turned DJ for the night. She also tweeted about the fun they were having both at the beach and at the club. Serena turned heads with her leopard print swimming costume in the beach and it became quite a funny incident streaming through the entire social media. Serena is an inspiration to all those women who think twice before wearing what they want to with their body weight according to leading news columnists.

Another startling incident was when both Wozniacki and Serena Williams crashed at a celeb’s wedding in that leopard print swim suit. Even this incident became as a hilarious one and considered as the greatest crash of wedding so far. She stood beside the bride and the groom taking pictures and tweeting it. She seemed extremely happy and comfortable as if she was in for a holiday. She certainly took the city with aplomb with her outrageous public display of spending time together with Wozniacki straight after crashing out from the French Open in first round itself. But she has always been very vocal and public with her appearances and pictures.