Roger Federer booked his place in the quarterfinals with a smooth 6-2, 6-4 win over young teenager Bernard Tomic. Elsewhere, Andy Murray was upset by Jeremy Chardy, and Novak Djokovic did not lose a game in the first set against Nikolay Davydenko before the Russian retired.
Right from the start, Roger was never in trouble against Tomic. The Aussie is just one of those guys that will not put in the effort to really compete point in and point out like the best players in the world do. Perhaps he just needs to mature - and he better, because he plays in a very lethargic way that seems like he doesn't even care whether he wins or loses.
The first two matches for Fed have been a dream. Coming off the heavy Wimbledon/Olympics double, he got some needed rest during Toronto and now has won his first two matches in two hours. It's the perfect setup for the rest of the week.
He will play Mardy Fish, a rematch of the 2010 final, in the quarterfinals. Mardy has been in good form lately and took out Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-3. The final between Fed and Fish two years ago was a very tight 3-set encounter but if Roger is on his game I see him winning in a tight straight sets affair.
Andy Murray lost in disappointing fashion to Frenchman lucky loser Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 6-4. After his gold medal triumph in London, Andy has only two wins in the North American summer lead-up to the US Open. Losing in straight sets to a guy like Chardy must be a killer blow for his confidence, especially after his great results at Wimbledon in July.
Novak Djokovic didn't even need to finish his match as Davydenko retired after getting blasted in a 6-0 opening set. Juan Martin del Potro took out Viktor Troicki in three sets, while Milos Raonic defeated Tomas Berdych. Raonic will have a great chance to make it to the semis when he plays Stan Wawrinka, who beat Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-3, although Stan has played two great matches in a row and he is a stout opponent.
So the quarterfinals see Federer vs Fish, Djokovic vs Cilic, del Potro vs Chardy, and Wawrinka vs Raonic. Federer looks good to get through Fish (although don't underestimate Mardy), but Delpo vs Chardy and Wawrinka vs Raonic will be close. Djokovic should have no trouble with Cilic.
As for Roger, he would surely like to play Stan more than Raonic because Milos has challenged him three times this year, and on the quick courts of Cincinnati, it would be another nail-biter.
Until next time....
No comments:
Post a Comment