Wimbledon 2015: Players to watch out

The 2015 Wimbledon Championships is a tennis tournament which will take place at the all England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom, from 29 July to 12 July 2015. This will be the 129^th edition of the championships and third grand slam of the year. It is played on Grass courts. Novak Djokovic of Serbia is the defending champion in men’s singles and Petra Kvitova is the defending champion in women’s singles.

Players to watch out in Wimbledon 2015 Men’s edition are Novak Djokovic, Stanislas Wawrinka, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, and Kei Nishikori. Novak and Wawrinka had already won one grand slam this year. Novak lost in French Open 2015 final by Wawrinka but still he is the most challenging contender for Wimbledon 2015.

In Women’s singles edition, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova, Simona Halep, Lucie Safarova, and Ana Ivanovic.  Serena Williams had already won two grand slams this year. In continuation she had won three grand slams including US Open 2014 Final. If Serena Williams won Wimbledon 2015 then it will be four in a row for her, which will be a world record in Tennis.

Prize money for winners in singles category is 1,880,000 pound. Tournament will end on 12^th July till then stay tuned for the result of Wimbledon 2015. 

Bangladesh outplayed India

In a three match series against India, Bangladesh played their best cricket and won the series by 2-1. Fifties from Shikhar Dhawan and MS Dhoni set up a good score in the last match and gave them the consolation of avoiding a 3-0 Banglawash. However, Bangladesh made an encouraging start but lost too many wickets till 30^th over to stay in connection and their winning streak at home is also stopped by India.

Indian bowling didn’t go well in the series. Fast bowlers failed to make any impression whereas part time bowlers shine in only winning match. There will be a lot of questions in dressing room on many players who failed to perform in this series. Even in test match except openers, other key batsman didn’t bat for long. Consistency is what is missing in team right now. Better combination of bowlers and middle order batsman is also missing.

For every single spot there are options of two players, which is at times difficult for captain to choose. In upcoming series in England and Zimbabwe, Indian team has to play a good cricket. In current series, Mustafizur Rahman picked 13 wickets, which is most by a Bangladesh bowler against India. Shikhar Dhawan scored 158 runs, most by any batsman.

This is the first time Bangladesh had won series against India. In next week, Bangladesh will play against South Africa. India will play against Zimbabwe. All eyes will be on Indian batsman especially Virat Kohli. His performance is questioned from World Cup 2015 and he will have to perform to show his ability as a captain.

Nico Rosberg wins Austrian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton started Sunday Spielberg race from Pole position, but it was Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg who led into turn 1. From there on the German driver never looked back, securing his third win of the season to reduce Hamilton’s title advantage to just 10 points. The world champion, also handicapped by a 5s time penalty for crossing the white line on the pit exit, took the flag 3.8s behind Rosberg, while Felipe Massa scored his first and Williams second podium of the season.

Nor could anyone hold a candle to the Mercedes. Sebastian Vettel tried his best, but lost third place when Ferrari pit stop was delayed as the right rear wheel took longer to change. That was sufficient to drop him behind Felipe Massa, and his chase after the Brazilian was one of the race highlights. Over the final laps he was within striking distance, but Massa held on for his first podium since Abu Dhabi last year.

Ferrari lost their car in a violent accident on the opening lap and came into contact with Fernando Alonso McLaren. McLaren then retired their second car soon afterwards, when Jenson Button lost power after two pit stops, one to serve his 10s stop and go penalty for power unit changes, the other to investigate the incurable problem.

Hamilton still leads the driver championship with 169 points to Rosberg 159 and Vettel 120, while in constructor stakes Mercedes have 328 points to Ferrari 192 and Williams 129. Next race will take in Silverstone circuit, Britain on 5^th July, 2015. Last year the race was won by Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes. Stay tuned for this year result. 

Lewis Hamilton Wins Canadian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton took a controlled victory in the Canadian Grand Prix, fending off team mate Nico Rosberg. The Mercedes Drivers circulated at the front throughout an unusually uneventful race as William Valtteri Bottas beat Ferrari Kimi Raikkonen to third. Hamilton fourth win in seven races extends his driver championship advantage to 17.

The win helps to make up for a Hamilton disappointment in the last race in Monaco, where he lost a dominant victory as a result of strategic error by the team. Hamilton led into the first corner pole position and built a four second lead before his pit stop and then controlled the gap at little over a second for the rest of the race as the drivers of the two silver cars managed fuel, brakes and tyres to the finish. Raikkonen was on course for a comfortable third place until a spin at the hairpin on lap 27, caused by the hybrid system kicking in unexpectedly. That cost him position to Bottas.

Vettel rode his luck at times, especially at last chance, where he was involved in two near miss incidents. Raikkonen finished ahead of team mate Sebastian Vettel, who drove an attacking race from the back of the grid following an engine problem in qualifying and a five place grid penalty for passing illegally in practice. Grosjean finished 10^th, which he held on to despite a five second penalty for causing the incident was applied. His mistake handed sixth to Felipe Massa from 15^th on the grid.

Three cars failed to make it to the end, both of neither McLarens of Fernando Alonso nor Jenson Button retiring with mechanical problems, while Manor Roberto Merhi exited a race for the first time this year. The next race will held in Austria on June 21, 2015. Last year, the race was won by Nico Rosberg. Stay tuned for this year.

French Open 2015

French Open is a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 114^th edition of the French Open and second grand slam event of the year. It consisted of events for professional players in singles, doubles, mixed doubles, juniors and wheelchair players. Rafael Nadal was the nine time defending champion in Men’s singles and Maria Sharapova in the Women Singles.

Stan Wawrinka won his first French Open title defeating Number one Novak Djokovic in the final by 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, and 6-4. Serena Williams won her 3^rd French Open title and 20^th Grand Slam Singles title beating Safarova in the final. She defeated Safarova by 6-3, 6-7(2/7), and 6-2. This was Wawrinka second major winning title after Australian Open 2014. He also ended Novak 28 match winning streak.

Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo won the Men’s doubles title defeating Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in the final. In Women Doubles Bethanie and Safarova defeated Casey and Shvedova in the final. Mixed Double is won by Bethanie and Mike Bryan. Stan Wawrinka defeated Roger Federer in the quarterfinals and Jw.Tsonga in the Semi-Finals to reach finals of French Open. On the other end, Novak defeated Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals and Andy Murray in Semi-Finals.

In Women Singles, Serena defeated S.Errani in quarterfinals and T. Bacsinszky in Semi-Finals to reach final. Lucie Safarova defeated G. Muguruza in quarterfinals and A. Ivanovic in Semi-Finals to reach final of the tournament. The next tennis major tournament Wimbledon will start from 29 June 2015 and last till 12 July 2015. With stunning performances in Men’s section, competition is tougher for other players to win their title. Last year Novak Djokovic won Men’s singles and Petra Kvitova won Women singles title.