Well, it's that time of the year again - the final 4 in the 4th and final Grand Slam of the year, and for the 4th time in a row, the final will be played on Monday, a decision that has made all the players very happy. Speaking of the number 4, the top 4 seeds are all in the semifinals of the 2011 US Open, as it was in 2008 when Roger Federer and Andy Murray made it through to the final.
Quarterfinal recap, here we go!
Roger played about as well as I hoped he would, defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 64 63 63 in a rather comfortable win that was delayed by a slight drizzle for 90 or so minutes early in the match. I was one of the seemingly few fans that was confident Roger was going to win this match decisively, although I guess you can't blame anybody for thinking Tsonga would have a real chance with the results at Wimbledon and Montreal. But I knew that Roger, after the way he looked vs Juan Monaco, was going to be sharp as his Gillette razor, and win the match in dominant fashion, making a statement in the process. Roger did just that. He was serving well, returning brilliantly, and he remained very level-headed when he got broken in the first two sets after having a break and double break lead. He played within himself and used his lethal serve and quick-strike attacking tennis to take the match to Jo, and in the end, the Frenchman never really stood a chance. Roger proved again why he is such a dangerous player in when he has something to prove, and he certainly had a score to settle with Jo after his two losses in the past few months. Yes, Tsonga didn't play his very best tennis, much of that had to do with the way Roger was hitting the ball and constantly putting Jo in a defensive position in the rallies. It was a brilliant gameplan and brilliant execution by the Maestro, and he looks exceptionally good heading into the semifinals, where he plays the #1, Novak Djokovic.
Novak had a tough match with countryman Janko Tipsarevic, who gave it his all but ended up retiring down 3-0 in the 4th set, down two sets to one. It was a valiant effort from Tipsy, and he could not ask anymore of himself. He reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time ever and he can walk away from this tournament knowing he had given it his all. I, for one, am very proud of his effort, and he is quickly becoming one of my favourite players.
As for Djoker, he did enough to win but he certainly wasn't as sharp as we have come to see this past year. He will need to be much better vs Federer in the semifinal, ESPECIALLY if Roger plays as well as he did vs Tsonga and as well as he did earlier in the year in Paris, where he sent a message to the world by beating Nole and handing him his first loss of the 2011 season. Novak seems more prone to mental breakdowns than he did say, in March or April. His confidence seems a little shaken, and he is, to me, not the favourite to win vs Roger. If anything, it is right down the middle with Roger playing as well as he has the past two matches.
Onto the bottom half of the draw, and Andy Murray showed why he is such a great returner and defeated John Isner in 4 sets, even winning a tiebreak vs the big American, something that is rare to do, as Isner is a master of playing those tiebreaks. I did not see the entire match, but Murray seems to be heading into the semifinal in good form, something that is a great sign for himself, his team and his fans. As for John Isner, he is always improving and could be a top 10 player very soon if he keeps improving like he has. I could definitely see him surpassing Mardy Fish as the top American in the world shortly, with his big serve, wide reach, and always improving fitness. So basically, John Isner is improving, and that is great. He is a class person and deserves to keep rising up the ranks in men's tennis.
The final quarterfinal to be played featured Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick, and if you watched the match, it wasn't ever close. Nadal was focused and on fire right from the first point and he ended up winning 62 61 63. Nadal certainly must be happy to be playing this well after his tough summer hardcourt season, but let's be honest here, Andy Roddick was injured going into the match and could have retired in the 2nd set, but didn't, mostly because, like Roger, he has respect for the game not to retire in such an important match, no matter what the final score in the end may be. Rafa is certainly in good form, no doubt about that, but this may not have been the match to overly praise Nadal, seeing how he was playing an opponent who was undoubtedly moving and hitting the ball far worse than he is capable of. Still, Nadal is dangerous right now and is peaking at the right time. He has been very solid ever since his tough match with David Nalbandian in the 3rd round.
It should be a great day of tennis on Saturday, as we have the men's and women's semifinals, and all should be compelling matches. I will go into more detail tomorrow morning about all the matches before the Federer/Djokovic match starts at noon local time. I am already psyching myself up for both men's semifinals, and I really cannot wait for them to get underway (I know many Fedfans on Twitter aren't feeling the same way). Cheers!
These are two relatively even matches. Fed has to win stacks of cheap points on his serve, as he did in Paris. The body serve needs to be an even bigger and more central part of his arsenal.
ReplyDeleteNadal-Murray comes down to Murray's ability to not only whack the forehand the way he did in the first set at Wimbledon, but to remain mentally tough whenever he loses a key point or Nadal flourishes. Murray has to stand in the ring and absorb the punches that are part of a best-of-five-set match against Rafa.
Keep the quality analysis flowing!