Right ok so its time fer part 3 of my coverage of the 2012 US Open, which saw some more intense match play on Days 6 and 7 in the men's and ladies match so let's have a look at em!
Right the ladies Serena Williams played against the Russian player, Ekaterina Makarova, who previously upset Serena at the Australian open earlier this year, however there was no shock exit this time as despite a tight first set, Serena breezed past the Russian with a 6-4, 6-0 victory. Agnieszka Radwanska (nearly always typer her name wrong!) faced Jelena Jankovic, in what promised to be quite an encounter, although it wasn't a classic encounter by any means, there were brakes of serve aplenty, but in the end it was Aga that came through in a scrappy straight sets 6-3, 7-5. Angelique Kerber had no trouble however against her opponent Olga Govortsova winning in 6-1, 6-2, who will go on to face Sara Errani in the 4th round. And finally Roberta Vinci overcame Dominika Cibulkova in 6-2, 7-5 to set up a meeting with Radwanska. More matches will folow on the ladies as Laura Robson will take on Sam Stosur, for her first ever place in the quarter finals of a grand slam. Victoria Azarenka, who has blasted her way through the draw so far, is in action as well, and what could potentially be a really good match is Petra Kvitova taking on Marion Bartoli, so expect plenty of big hitting there!
So onto the men's matches starting with Roger Federer who was up against Fernando Verdasco, a former top 10 player, but this time it was not much of a contest for Roger, who managed to come through quite comfortably in the end with a straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory. This will set up a tougher match in prospect however as Roger will next take on one of the home favourites, Mardy Fish next up in the 4th round, which promises to be a good one. Novak Djokovic also had it quite easy as he played the Frenchman, Julien Benneteau, whom he had little trouble getting past, after a promising start from Benny, he was broken and Djoko never looked back, and went to close out with a comfortable 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win. This sees Djokovic really is in great form just now, and there is still a strong chance that he could defend his title at the US Open, but it remains to be seen how he will get on.
In other men's matches there was Tomas Berdych, who had a tougher passage into the 4th round as he battled against another big server, Sam Querrey, as it took him 4 sets to get past the big Yank in 6-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. Nicolas Almagro also to tough it out but finished up strong against the American player, Jack Sock, with a tight 7-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-1 win, which will set up another clash with his best buddy Berdych (who refuse to shake his hand after the Melbourne match, but they have patched up since!). Juan Martin Del Potro however had a slightly more comfortable victory against his fellow countryman Leonardo Mayer 6-3, 7-5, 7-6(9). And David Ferrer also had a bit of a tussle getting into the 4th round as he took on the former champion, Lleyton Hewitt, but finished strong in the 4th set with the scoreline reading 7-6(9), 4-6, 6-3, 6-0. And the big Candian server, Milos Raonic wiped out the American player, James Blake, with a 6-3, 6-0, 7-6(3) win, thumping 29 aces down in the process, and looking very formidable.
And lastly, Andy Roddick played his part in a highly entertaining match on Arthur Ashe stadium, as he took on the crowd pleasing showboating Italian player, Fabio Fognini, who entertained the crowd with his flashy play, and he also gave Roddick a run for his money. After the first two sets, Roddick's level dipped in the 3rd as Fognini broke him to seal the 3rd set, but after squandering one break, Roddick managed to get another in the 4th set, after which he finally closed out the match to a delighted 20,000 strong cheering audience, with a 7-5, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 score. So that's Roddick into the last 16 where he will play Del Potro, which could well be his last match, but you never know, he just might win to extend his run before he retires, so I'll wish him the best of luck.
Which brings me to Andy Murray who in his 3rd round match took on Feliciano Lopez, whom had never beaten Andy in their previous six meetings, and most of them were in straight sets, so this looked to be a pretty routine match for the Muzza. However it proved to be anything but as Lopez brought his A game to the proceedings, serving brilliantly and coming up with an array of dazzling shots, he pushed Andy to two tiebreaks in 1st and 2nd sets but ultimately losing them. But in the baking hot sun, Andy's level started to dip as he went up a break twice against Lopez and squandered them both, and he dropped his own serve to let Lopez take the 3rd set. In the 4th set, Lopez's great form continued, and Andy looked worse for wear in the blazing sun, but he just manged to hold onto his serve to push the match to a 4th set tiebreak, which saw Andy finally make the breakthrough, with a terrific passing shot, he set up a match point, which saw Lopez slice a drop shot into the net, with saw Andy finally reach the 4th round after a brutal and epic 7-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 win.
Well in the grand slams you are always ensured a Murray dramathon and this was it, or should I say this match was just the beginning as it had just about everything in it, and both players put on quite a show for the jam packed and enthralled crowd. Andy worryingly though did show signs of fatigue as he struggled in the 3rd set to hold serve as well as coping with the blazing heat, with the temps apparently soaring up to 100 degrees farenheit! (It wouldn't be me out there I tell you!). However depsite a somewhat ropey performance, Andy did produce some terrific tennis just when he needed it and he displayed that particularly in the three tiebreaks, where he played the big points so well, which made the difference. Lopez also deserves tremendous credit to what he brought to this match, as he easily played his best tennis against Andy, even though it wasn't quite enough, he certainly won over alot of fans as a result. But it was down to Andy's grit and tenacity that managed to see him through to the last 16 at Flushing Meadows.
And in his next match Andy will play the big Canadian, Milos Raonic, who makes for a very unenviable opponent, given his big powerful and accurate serve, he could serve up a whole lot of trouble for Andy tomorrow night. Raonic has already beaten Andy in their only previous meeting in Barcelona earlier this year, however that was in a smaller ATP tour event and not in a grand slam, and over the best of 5 sets I think Andy will have the mental edge on Raonic. However Andy will also need to serve better in this match to have any real chance, but fortunately for him, Raonic despite the usual accuracy of his serve, can be prone to making unforced errors from time to time, so Andy can pressure him with his return game, and that's where he might make the difference. But Raonic has a pretty good chance of pulling off an upset here, as he could easily hit Andy off the court if he has a great day, then it will be an early exit for the British No.1. However I am hoping this won't be the case, and the match itself promises to be a real belter, so let's hope it lives up to expectations, and I might be wrong but I think Andy will come through it in 4 or 5 sets, or the big Raoner might dump him out in 3 or 4 sets, but let's hope not! :-)
Right so that's it for now. More soon on the ladies 4th round matches, and the men's. Gulp!
Byeeee!
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