Ok so now we are really getting down to the deep end of the tournament at the Sony Open Tennis in Miami, as I will talk about the men's semi finals in this post, so let's gie it a look...
Right to start off I will discuss the first semi final between David Ferrer, the World No.5 and the in form again German player Tommy Haas. Haas came into the semi final in top notch form as he stunned Novak Djokovic in the 4th round and beat Gilles Simon very convincingly in the quarter finals, so it looked to be a tough proposition for Ferrer. And right enough the match itself was a tight affair, with Haas taking the initiative early in the first set, breaking Ferrer to go 5-2 up, but Ferrer managed to get one of the breaks back, but afterwards Haas closed the set out. In the 2nd set, Ferrer started his comeback as he broke Haas twice to level the match at a set all, and in the 3rd, despite going a break down, Ferrer battled back and broke Haas for the final time to close out the match and reach his 5th 1000 Masters final and his first final in Miami with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 triumph.
And the last semi final match of the day was between Andy Murray and the French player Richard Gasquet, which promised to be quite a tough encounter, as Andy lead their tight head to head 4-3, and it certainly turned out to be just that. In the first set Andy got off to yet another nervy start like he did against Cilic and Dimitrov, going a break down, but soon breaking back, and later in the 1st set Andy went a break up 5-4 in a postion to serve for the set. However nerves got the better of him as Andy played a sloppy service game, which let Gasquet back on serve to make it 5-5, and with play going to a tiebreak, it was Gasquet that came up with some moments of brilliance to clinch the opening set and the breaker 7-3. But it was in the 2nd set where Andy battled back into the match and started dominating the play aggressively, and he went on to break Gasquet twice to secure the set and level the match. In the 3rd Andy broke again, but he once again handed the break back to Gasquet to make it 1-1, but the British No.1 took the initiative once more and broke to go 2-1. From here Andy went on to hold serve with relative ease and he took a final decisive break to eventually serve out the match and seal his place in the final for a 3rd time, toughing out the win in 6(3)-7, 6-1, 6-2.
It was great to see that for both semi finals we were given a treat as all four men were put to the test by each other and they played some great tennis and admittedly some not so great tennis as well at times. Ferrer in his match made an impressive comeback against an inspired Haas who looked so solid in the 1st set and ready to take the match with an early break in the 3rd. But that's the reason why Ferrer is at the top of his game and in the top 5, as he knows how to grind it out against just about any player on the tour, and he was always my favourite to win that match. So its great to see the humble Spaniard back in another 1000 Masters series final, and it will be interesting to see how he get's on.
Which brings me to his opponent in the final, Andy Murray, who at times this week has played some of his best tennis and has been way below par on others. And despite some of his ropey service games, and getting off to an edgy slow start in some matches, Andy really has shown some champion qualities this week in Miami, and I definitely think he is the favourite to win the title this Sunday. Andy also has an excellent record on hard court over Ferrer, and while it will no doubt be a tough match, I can see Andy coming through in the end to claim his 9th 1000 Masters series title and the World No.2 ranking, where he will overtake Federer in the rankings. But as I said it will be far from easy, and I think this match will go to 3 sets, and I'm sure Ferrer or "the wall" as he's known, will put Murray through his paces, playing long rallies and getting him to move around the court from pillar to net. Ferrer also having won his maiden Masters title last year in Paris will also be playing with alot of confidence, having won one of these titles already, which could give home more of an edge than he had in the past, so no doubt this will be a tough test for Andy. But I think it will be a really good final and hopefully one that will live up to expectations.
So that's it for men's just now, next up will be the ladies which starts on Saturday, which of course is between the top two players in the world, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova respectively. Serena leads their head to head emphatically with 11-2 in the World No.1's favour, so its going to be a tough ask for Maria to pull off a victory. However its not entirely impossible that Sharapova cannot do it, as she has won her last 11 matches without even dropping a set, but against Serena its a tough proposition to beat at all let alone in straight sets. But personally for me I think Serena will win the title in straight sets, hopefully it will be a fairly tight match, but I can see the usual from Sharapova, double faulting to the hilt and a slew of unforced errors, and against Serena especially with her serve, which is just about the best in the women's game, that's just doesn't cut it. However we will see what transpires.
So on that note I shall leave it there, I will report back with more on the ladies final once it is over and done with, or I might just combine that with men's final, we'll see.
Until the next time, bye the nowwww!
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