Image by Boss Tweed via Flickr It was an incredible display from Roger Federer to see off Andy Murray's hopes of securing his first Grand Slam title. It would have been Great Britains first major title since Fred Perry last won the US Open in 1936. My sister's boyfriend just thought Fred Perry was a designer, he was put straight tonight as was Murray who after emphatically seeing of Nadal in the Semi Final just couldn't handle the legend that is Federer.
People have criticised him over the last few months and maybe he is no longer in his prime but making 3/4 finals and securing a gold medal at the Olympics in the doubles it hasn't been that bad! The way I see it is that he just hasn't worked out how to beat Nadal yet but as Murray showed yesterday he is human and can be beaten!
Federer won this final, the fifth US Open in his illustrious career in 6-2 7-5 6-2 and although Murray was better in the second Set it seemed inevitable that it was to be Federer's day. He controlled the match, changing the play and using his backhand and powerful forehand. Murray is growing in statue and even though he lost I feel that it is only a matter of time before he achieves on this stage and wins a Grand Slam.
“I got the better of him the last two times we played, but he definitely set the record straight today,” Murray said.
Federer’s has now won 13 major singles title, and closing on Pete Sampras’s record of 14 men’s singles Slams.
“One thing’s for sure. I’m not going to stop at thirteen,” Federer said. “I really feel tennis is in a great place right now. We have incredible athletes.”
With the Slam's over this year, next year is looking great for the Men's game and even more exciting now that we have a player in contention. Just like the Premiership we now have a big foursome in Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray. Should be many more classic matches, another Wimbledon like the last would be good although that will take some beating in terms of the shots that were played. Here's to the 2009 Tennis tour!!
What an incredible weekend of sport, firstly there was Amir Khan who didn't get a wake up call but possibly has had his short career put to bed now. Just 54 seconds to be precise and it could have been over so much earlier had the fight been stopped after the first knock down which took place after a barrage of shots from Breidis Prescott which put Khan on the floor after 30 seconds. It will be difficult to come back from such an embarrassing and exposing defeat but they need to go back to the drawing board to assess what went wrong before attempting to put it right. Reminds me of Prince Naseem, supremely confident but unable to come back once his weakness was exposed!!
Joe Cole rescued England who again were poor in their World Cup qualifier against Andorra on Saturday. I admit I am stubborn and refuse to watch the current crop of England players as I fins them to be embarrassing and lacking commitment. Cole who many times in the past has been a strong impact player again produced the goods scoring both goals that saw England defeat a team who they should have comfortably put to the sword but as is the norm they made hard work of it.
With the Formula One I witnessed one of the greatest finales to a race that I have ever seen but controversy at the end ruined an emphatic performance. Lewis Hamilton having won a spectacular race was demoted 25 seconds for what stewards judged as gaining an unfair advantage after cutting a corner. A weak decision as Lewis had no choice but to cut the corner or risk taking himself and Kimi Raikkonen out of the race.
Lewis started the race well and with the strategy that McLaren had it was clear that the objective was to move clear of the chasing pack. This was working until Lewis spun on a wet part of the track, although he was able to get going again but Kimi who had started well from fourth had the momentum and was able to pass Lewis easily. From then on it was formation racing as Kimi, Lewis and Massa were inseparable in terms of lap times and the distance between the cars.
Kovalainen would have possibly been in contention as well but he had a race to forget and also received a drive through penalty. The late action was caused by the expected rain forecast and the wet conditions opened it up for Lewis as Kimi began easing off allowing Lewis to mount a challenge for first place. It was a great battle for position with both drivers going off the track as conditions became increasingly difficult.
Hamilton was told after the race that the move was under investigation and like everyone else I believed he had done nothing wrong. Racing for position he had no choice but to cut the Bus Stop chicane when Kimi closed the door on his move. Emerging from the corner in front of Kimi, Lewis yielded the position which is within the rules but the stewards saw this as him having the momentum. Anyway they fought over postion exchanging places several times before Kimi went off the track and hit a barrier ending his race and possible interest in the championship. Lewis went on to win the race, Massa second and third Heidfeld after an amazing final lap. McLaren are to appeal the decision so watch this space...
Onto Tennis and the US Open Semi Final between Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray has produced some stunning tennis. Tonight it produced a stunning result as Andy Murray held his nerve and was able to dispose of a valiant effort from Nadal 6-2, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4. Hurricane Hanna had interrupted play but it only postponed the outcome, Murray the sixth seed had won the first two Sets against the No.1 player in the world and current French Open, Wimbledon and Olympic Gold medalist. I felt that Nadal had just had a day to forget Saturday, which can be expected considering his blistering form lately, I thought that today Murray would be handed a lesson but it wasn't to work out that way. Nadal played some great tennis and was able to see out the Set having gone a break up the day before but Murray even though he missed the opportunity to break Nadal several times at the start of the fourth Set had Nadal worried.
Murray can be wasteful and it is frustrating watching him at times but he can also produce moments of sheer class. Tonight we witnessed the best of Murray and he moves into the final against Roger Federer and having beaten Federer previously he must fancy his chances against one of the best players of all time. I am hoping for a match like the Federer-Nadal final at Wimbledon but with this being our first Grand Slam finalist since Fred Perry I won't be watching as a neutral.
Great weekend for sport and the stand out for me still is the hat-trick scored by my son as that tops all of the above achievements by some distance!!
After a week to forget today turned it all around, waking up late wasn't ideal because the rushing around that proceeded wasn't perfect but maybe this should be the way every Saturday. I say that because Boy was prolific at football scoring a hat-trick (three goals) and he could have had more. Apparently he has been building this up all week, psyching himself out to an extent and telling people that he was going to score. Three goals is a good return and he has set himself a target next week of reaching eight. I will make sure that I get every one of my friends from Facebook there to watch!
My daughter really has thrown herself into horse riding and Pony Club and enjoys both so much always buzzing about what she has done and where she is aiming to reach. I only wish I could pay for her to go so much longer but it would cost a small fortune. She understands and I suppose it makes her enjoyment all that more special as she appreciates the time with the horses more.
We all spent the afternoon over my Girl's and it was good to see her and baby after a difficult week. We watched a movie and the children played with their toys and relaxed with us and hopefully this will be the start of us turning it around.
Image via CrunchBase, source unknown So today I finally got my hands on the iPhone, it's a great piece of hardware that Apple have created. As expected the only downside is the camera as the phone excels through the App store, iTunes and the user friendly interface. I added the apps available for the the sites that I frequent Facebook, Last.fm and LinkedIn. I also created shortcuts for FriendFeed and Digg using the Safari browser and added IMPlus for communication with my Messenger contacts.
I also added the Remote, Google and I paid £5.99 for Twitterrific Premium for Twitter, I paid as it's not about the advertisements that are available in the free release. What would have been convenient here would have been the option to pay by Credit Card, Gift Certificates or add to your monthly bill. I presume the later was my chosen method as I just selected to Get App and that confirmed the download.
The Google app allows you to explore more Google products, providing access to Mail, Calendar, Docs, Talk, Maps, News, Notebook, Photos, Reader and YouTube. The ability to scroll through Google Reader impressed me the most as being able to do this through the handset is a great feature. I would have liked a Blogger application as that would have been useful for Blogging when away from the PC and at events or activities. There is a Wordpress app available so I am hopeful it will only be a matter of time before an app is made available independently or as a product through the Google app.
Highly recommend the iPhone, I know that I have only touched the tip of the iceberg with the app store and what's available. Touch screen is definitely the way forward and now that I have made the switch I won't be going back to a standard handset. Also instead of having to carry around with me an iPod and mobile/cell phone I now have more room in my man bag for other accessories [Camera] and metrosexual eveyday items!
Image via CrunchBase, source unknown Tomorrow my mobile/cell phone contract with O2 reaches it's time for renewal, I tried upgrading last week but my eagerness was knocked back due to the strictness over the renewal date. For the last two years I have pledged allegiance to the Sony Ericsson Cybershot, with it's 5mp camera it was convenient for taking photo's when out with my friends and family. The k800i was a great phone and got me into photography, the upgrade from that was the k850i and I was largely disappointed. The quality of the images hasn't been of a standard that at times is even viewable due to the flash. This has seen a real drop in the amount of photos I have taken recently. My friends on various sites upload the majority of the photos they take to Flickr so I have made the decision to get a Canon EOS 450D as has been recommended.
Introducing the iPhone as my next phone of choice, Apple are a strong brand and the iPhone is now the bench mark in the mobile/cell phone industry. With the UI, Safari browser, camera, GPS, tilt controls, and a full developers API and App marketplace it's got a lot to offer everyone. Okay the camera is only 2mp but that hasn't stopped the phone becoming the most used to upload photo's to Flickr and by some distance as well. Take into account my decision on purchasing designated hardware [Canon EOS 450D] and the camera becomes a side feature, if it wasn't already anyway as the App marketplace really sets the iPhone apart. My decision was finalised this month as when on holiday with my family I checked a few sites whilst in the caravan and my payment this month was three times more than usual. The iPhone contract I will sign up to has unlimited Internet so no worry about my activity.
A guest post by Jesse Stay of Stay N' Alive on louisgray.com caught my attention earlier as he speaks about the possibility of user profiles being introduced to the iPhone. Social networking is huge and he is correct that this does have a lot of potential, with iTunes as well you have a huge userbase just waiting to be tapped into. Music, Video, Podcasts, Calls, Camera, Applications etc add location awareness, user profiles, the ability to share content and I am sure that like myself reading this you see that the possibilities are endless. First things first and tomorrow I will be finally getting my hands on the iPhone and the rest is up to you Apple!
Image via CrunchBase, source unknown Everything needs direction, otherwise we don't know where we are headed and whether we are moving forwards, backwards or sideways. The content of my blog has changed a lot over the last few years and has weaved an intricate path as my objectives and passions have changed. I am still going to keep heading in the direction I have set myself but change is natural and something I will actively adopt. I would like to become a more active blogger and reserve the time to daily post about my family, sports, technology interests and soon photography which I am looking to embrace more.
This will all take time and how I will fit it into my already busy schedule I don't know but it's something I am looking forward to contributing to. Earlier today a post on FriendFeed [Twitter import] caught my attention where someone had made a comment on Robert Scoble a blogger, technical evangelist and author and he had responded. What amazes me is how people like Robert are such an active presence in the community as well as also being committed to reporting on the industry and spending time with family.
Robert who according to FriendFeed on the Rocks has 16,395 estimated subscribers on FriendFeed [33,584 followers on Twitter], which is a lot of noise, but he manages to keep up and respond to such posts directed his way. It's impressive how he is able to maintain the level of contribution on multiple levels, a position where a lot of people including myself would like to reach.
On the subject of change and direction the latest video on his Fast Company blog shows him talking to Mark Slee, lead product manager on the recent Facebook facelift update and the direction of the site. Mark details the changes commenting on the imported feeds and the development in general. Earlier today I came across a post over on Inside Facebook that had data showing that 60% of users had now migrated to the new site. That's a large majority when you consider that Facebook has a user base of 100m. Robert comes across as a very positive person and it's clear to see why he is such a well respected figure in the industry and why he gets to rub shoulders with the who's who. Check out the embedded video below for the interview and also a behind the scenes peak at the Facebook offices.
Image via CrunchBase, source unknown Following on from yesterday, and with the early adopters having had the chance to digest the new browser from Google, Chrome. Discussion over potential and direction has been a hot topic across the entire blogosphere. Firstly the Chrome beta has shown that it is many times faster than it's rivals when running Javascript the programming language that powers Google Docs, Gmail, and many other Web applications.
Sundar Pichai, a Google vice president of product management, said when asked about plugins "We don't have that in the beta today, but we definitely plan an extension API." Firefox extensions are very popular and when this is made available it will enhance the browsing experience further. The launch of the beta has seen Chrome aquire 3% of the marketshare according to sources which is an impressive start. Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari the Googles are coming...
Other stories today were that Toluu, the OPML sharing and matching service that allows readers to share feeds has enabled tagging. Anyone familiar with the likes of Delicious, StumbleUpon etc will be familiar with this feature. Basically by tagging a feed it will make it easier to be introduced to more feeds which will benefit the readers;
‘My Tags’ shows you how you have tagged this feed and also allows you to update your tags with in-line editing goodness.
‘Top Tags’ shows the most popular tags for the feed across the Toluu universe.
‘Similar Feeds’ scours all of the feeds in Toluu and compares the tags to find relevant matches, providing another way to discover interesting new feeds.
Finally I will finish with something not technology related which I just came across from Perez Hilton. It's the GQ Awards with Lily Allen and Elton John presenting and Lily has clearly had a few to drink. Watch how this turns out...
Image by Boss Tweed via Flickr It was an incredible display from Roger Federer to see off Andy Murray's hopes of securing his first Grand Slam title. It would have been Great Britains first major title since Fred Perry last won the US Open in 1936. My sister's boyfriend just thought Fred Perry was a designer, he was put straight tonight as was Murray who after emphatically seeing of Nadal in the Semi Final just couldn't handle the legend that is Federer.![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=a0c85dd9-d19b-4e92-9206-33eb59c02c98)
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