So we are now getting toward the business end of the Australian Open in Melbourne, as the 4th round matches are all now over and the quarter finalists on the mens and ladies draws have been decided and played out. And amidst it there has been some more excellent tennis on display.
So starting with the men, we had Andy Murray who prospectively had a tough match up with the world no.92 Mikhail Khukushkin, who the Muzz had previously met in Brisbane this year and was pushed to three sets. However Andy had no such trouble here, as Kushky was clearly struggling with injury throughout (having previously played two gruelling five setters), which ended up as being no contest for him, and his opponent was forced to retire, trailing 6-1, 6-1, 1-0 ret. So that has given Andy a safe passage into the quarter finals, where he will face a potentially much tougher opponent in Kei Nishikori, who upset Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, in a surprising encounter, over 5 sets. However in their last encounter in Shanghai, Andy wiped the floor with Nishikori, but who is to say it will be the same again???? I hope not for Kei's sake, but I definitely want to see Andy get through to the semis, because all want to what hopes to be a real showdown between him and his nemesis, Novak Djokovic from last year.
But anyway more on that later in the week, for now, on with the other matches, which saw David Ferrer, who is very much in form just now, make it past Richard Gasquet impressively in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, 6-1. Ferrer will next up face Djokovic, who himself came through a much anticipated and surprisingly tough encounter with the former World No.1 Lleyton Hewitt, who put up a gusty fight against the Serb. After an easy start, Djokovic broke Hewitt's serve twice to take the first set, in the second set, he went on and did the same, however in the 3rd set, Hewitt started to find his range and began to really hurt Djoko and forced to drop his first set of the tournament. However in the 4th set, Djokovic managed to break and close out the hard fought match in 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, just shy of 3 hours. This really was a great last hurra from Hewitt before he went out, and I was really impressed with his determination in the match. Frankly I knew he had no real chance of winning it, but he did exceptionally well to take it to Djokovic as much as he did, and he also handed Djokovic his first big test of the tournament. It also showed while Djokovic is still in top form, there are still a few cracks of vulnerability here and there to be exploited, as last year I think Hewitt wouldn't have made a dent on Novak. Regardles it was an excellent match with plenty of gripping points, and Hewitt deserves tremnendous credit for his effort here. So a potentially very good quarter final for Djokovic with David Ferrer awaits, which potentially could be another very tough encounter, and it will be well worth a watch.
Onto Roger and Rafa's matches, as they both managed to breeze past their forth round opponents, with Roger taking on the young Aussie up and comer Bernard Tomic, who ultimately had no answer for Fed express at all. In fact what we got was pretty much the express train flattening the young lad straight through, as Federer dispatched Tomic with great ease in 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. Rafa also won his match against his fellow Spaniard buddie, Feliciano Lopez in straight sets too 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. However Tomas Berdych had a much tougher encounter against another Spaniard Nicholas Almagro as it took four sets for the big Czeck to get by Almagro. This match was also quite controversial because Almagro, accidentally hit Berdych in the arm with one his shots, and despite apologising to Berdych at the net, after the match was over, Berdych refused to shake Almagro's hand. This made Berdych very unpopular with the crowd who continually booed him throughout his interview on court. In restrospect Berdych definitely made a mistake there and he should have just shook Almagro's hand at the net, although perhaps there is something else going on between them we don't know about. Regardless of that Berdych afterward admitted he made a mistake in not shaking Nick's hand, and for his sake, let's hope he doesn't get booed in his next match, which is against Rafa.
But Roger's next match is undoubtedly the most mouth watering one of the lot, as he will take on the World No.11 and former US Open champion, Juan Martin Del Potro in the quarter finals. This will definitely promise to be an absolute belter of a match, and the two men haven't played each other in a slam match since that US Open final, which saw Delpo upsetting Roger in a 5 set epic. Can Delpo do the same here????? Its really hard to say, but it certainly isn't outwith his ability to do it, and if there are a select few players that can get by Roger, Delpo is one of them. But given Federer's current form, I'd have to give Roger the slight advantage here, but one way or another I think we are in for a real treat with this one.
Update on 24/1/12: However quickly as an update, the Roger v Delpo turned out to be a bit of letdown as Federer dispatched Del potro with ease in straight sets winning 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, as Fed simply was too good for the big Argentine, and that means Roger is through to the semis without dropping a single set. Unlike Roger's match, Rafa had a much tougher match in order to reach the semis, as the former World No.1 had to really battle past Tomas Berdych to get to the semi spot. Berdych for the most part throughout really put Rafa through his paces, and forced Rafa to drop his first set of the tournament, albeit in a dramatic tiebreak, in which there was a line call which Rafa was not happy about, and frankly it looked like he was robbed of that first set. However Rafa battled on and managed to secure the 2nd set tiebreak, and after he was pretty much in control, albeit Berdy continued to play well. In the end though Rafa showed his champion qualities and emerged victorious in 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-3. This was a tumultuous effort from Rafa and the match itself was terrific and one of the real highlights of the tournament so far, with both players putting on some high quality tennis for the thrilled Rod Laver arena crowd. So this sets up perhaps the most mouth watering match of the tournament, two old rivals meet once again in a grand slam match, Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal. How will this one go???? Who knows??? It really is easily the most anticipated match of the tournament that awaits us, but it could go either way, and you never know, Federer could even outclass Rafa in straight sets as well, so we will see, but here's hoping it lives up to its billing.
So that's two of the top four through, we will wait and see if the other two get through and I sincerely hope they do, as its great to see the best four players in the world live up to their rankings and to potentially see them once again all in the semis is just terrific. And when people say that this is the golden age of tennis I couldn't agree more, and we should all count ourselves lucky that we have these four guys providing us all with such brilliant tennis and thrilling entertainment. (Update finished!!).
So onto the ladies matches, first up in the ladies fourth round matches we have Victoria Azarenka who once again had a very straight forward passage into the quarter finals against Iveta Benesova, whom she easily got past in 6-2, 6-2. However next up for Azarenka is Agnieszka Radwanska, which should definitely prove to be Vika's first big test of the tournament, as they have had several really close matches in the past, and this one promises to be a really good one. After that Caroline Wozniacki also managed to make it past Jelena Jankovic, after breezing her way past in the first set, Caroline faced a late fightback against Jankovic, but it wasn't enough and in the end, Caz managed to close it out in 6-0, 7-5.
And next up for Caroline will be Kim Clijsters, who also had a very tough and dramatic 4th round encounter with Li Na. The match promised to be good and it certainly was, although both players weren't exactly at their best, and Li's confidence dwindled really badly toward the end. In fact its a great shame for Li Na, as she must be the single most least confident player on the ladies tour just now, as she continually doubts herself on the court and off it. And despite winning the French Open last year, you think this would have spurred her own, but has had the opposite effect largely, and as Vriginia Wade, aptly described it, its like once these woman win their first slam, its like giving birth and after they suffer post-natal depression! This certainly is a good analogy to explain what's happened to Li Na, so we can only hope she picks up again throughout the year. Caroline Wozniacki however will definitely have her hands full in her next match against Clijsters, however with Kim's ankle injury, Caroline might be able to take advantage of her lack of mobility, but its impossible to write off Kim in any situation, so this promises to be a good one.
Anyway moving onto other matches, Petra Kvitova took on the back in form Ana Ivanovic, who gave Petra a fairly testing encounter, but the Czeck ultimately came through in 6-2, 7-6 to make it to the quarters where she will play Sara Errani of Italy. Kvitova admittedly has had a minor wobble in her second round match, but she seems to have recovered from it, and looks to be back on fine form again, and she definitely still remains as one of the top favourite to win the title. And in probably the biggest upset of the tournament so far, Serena Williams has been knocked out by the Russian player Elena Makarova, in straight sets 6-2, 6-3. From the match it was quite clear the Williams wasn't at her best and the lack of match play made her look pretty sluggish as she didn't move to well at all, so it remains to be seen how Serena will progress later in the year. And finally Maria Sharapova came through her 4th round match against Sabine Lisicki, which unlike last year at Wimbledon, proved to be quite a tough match, as Sharapova had to battle back from a set down to win against the saucy German player in 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. So Sharapova will next play Elena Makarova, and she has a very good head to head against her, so its a safe bet to say Sharapova could well be in the semi finals, but we shall see.
And on that rather exhaustive long posted note, I shall leave it right there!
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