Right well its time for my update on the men's matches from Wimbledon as I will cover the 4th round and quarter final matches of today also. So let's get started....
Right so beginning the 4th round matches we first up had Andy Murray take on the tallest man in the sport, Ivo Karlovic, the 6ft 11inch tall Croatian who has one of the biggest and best serves in the game. And the match promised to be a tricky one for Andy and it proved to be just that as the big Croat kept firing down monster serves which were incredibly tough to get to for most players. Andy however managed to dig deep and keep his concentration as he pushed the 1st set to a tense tiebreak which after going a break down he recovered and went on to break big Ivo back and take the breaker for the lead. In the 2nd set Andy somehow managed to break Ivo again and then went on to hold his own serve and take the two sets to love lead. In the 3rd set things were even pegged again but at 5-6 with Andy serving to stay in the set he broke a string, had to get a new racquet and then dropped serve to lose the set to keep Karlovic's hopes alive. In the 4th set Andy regrouped and managed to snag a break off Ivo yet again after challenging a line call that went in Andy's favour, which saw Andy soon go on to serve out the match and reach his 8th quarter final at Wimbledon after a hard fought 7-6, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 victory. This was a really entertaining and at times tense match and it saw Andy give an excellent performance for the most part despite dropping his serve to lose the 3rd set but now Andy stands at 6-0 against Karlovic and given the guy's serve its quite an impressive feat. And despite that dip it sees Andy into the second week in great form and he looks confident for the even tougher challenges ahead.
After that we had Roger Federer take on the Spaniard, Roberto Bautista-Agut in what proved to be a very one-sided match and Roger was simply way too good for the Spaniard as he managed to nab a double break in sets 1 and 2 to take the two set lead. The 3rd set saw the Spaniard go a break down but as he tried to hold on to make it 4-5 at 5-3 for Federer, Agut couldn't hold and Fed sped through to the quarter finals with a very convincing 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 win. Well so far Roger has looked the most impressive player in the tournament although it has to be said despite dropping that one set to Sam Groth, he's never really been tested so far in the championships and it will be interesting to see how he will respond to the tougher matches coming up.
Then next we had Richard Gasquet who played against the young and somewhat controversial Aussie, Nick Kygrios in a match that saw the Nickster get the back of an umpire for the second time in the tournament. And it was Gasquet that got off to the stronger start as he won the first set and broke Kygrios early in the 2nd and in the 3rd game of the set with Gasquet serving Nick lost interest and threw the game. Nick was given a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct and he also got into trouble for changing his socks! Nick did however get back into the 3rd set as he won it on the tiebreak and a tight 4th set saw another breaker but this time it went the way of Gasquet who reached his second Wimbledon quarter final in quite some time with a 7-5, 6-1, 6-7, 7-6 win. This match despite Gasquet's win would be morely remembered for Nick's antics on court and it also sparked some controversy from Laura Fraser, an Australian former olympic swimmer who in the press said she thought Nick's behaviour was "disgusting" and that "he should go back to where ever he came from with his parents". This prompted Nick to hit back and say that she was "racist" which caused further outcry but which ended with Fraser apologising for what she said. Clearly though Nick is still very immature as a player and a person and he's got a long way to go before he becomes anywhere near the finished article. Anyway that's Gasquet through to the quarter finals and it was a good solid performance from him and he deserved the win
After this we had Gilles Simon take on Tomas Berdych and he managed pull off a stunning upset over the 6th seed who appeared to be the heavy favourite going into this match. However Berdych appeared to be struggling with a foot injury and he failed to make an impression in the match as Simon put in a terrific effort to beat the big Czeck in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. Marin Cilic also made it through to the quarter finals as well after he had a tough encounter against the American player Denis Kudla as he needed four sets to beat him and came through with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 result. And Vasek Pospisil managed to complete a remarkable comeback against the Serb Viktor Troicki after going two sets to love down he battled back from the brink and won the last three sets to reach his first ever grand slam singles quarter final with a 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 result.
And last of all for the 4th round matches we had Novak Djokovic take on the South African, Kevin Anderson in a match in which Nole was the heavy favourite to win. However Novak did not anticipate Anderson's red hot form as the big guy came out firing, serving brilliantly and looking very sharp he at times made Novak look helpess. And in the match Anderson did the near unthinakble and took a two sets to love lead against the Serb winning the first two on tiebreaks with an unbelievable upset in sight. However Novak isn't the World No.1 for nothing and he went on to fight back and level the scores before the end of the night as play had to be suspended due to bad light as Nole levelled at two sets all. And the next day the match resumed and Anderson started off where he finished in sets one and two as he put Novak under heavy fire yet again but the defending champion somehow managed to find a way through as he finally broke Anderson's serve and served out the match and sealed his place in the last eight with an incredible 6-7, 6-7, 6-1, 6-4, 7-5 win. Well this remarkable match was yet again proof of the pudding that Novak is the world's best player as it really took great character for him to come back from two sets to love down against such stern resistance but that's what he does and he did. As for Anderson well it really showed what a terrific player he is and despite the loss its a match he can take much from going ahead.
So moving onto the quarter finals matches first up we had Andy Murray face Vasek Pospisil for a place in the semis and given Pospisil's form it looked like it would be a tricky match. However Andy once again showed excellent form and while he faced some tricky moments from the Canadian he managed to break him to take the 1st and he later broke at 5-5 in the 2nd set and in the 3rd set Andy broke at 4-4 to serve out the match. However Andy didn't serve it out without some difficulty as he faced a break point and a couple of deuce points before reaching the finish line on his second match point and with that he had made his 6th Wimbledon grand slam semi final with a 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 win. This was a pretty good match overall and a good solid effort also from Pospisil who admittedly as the match went on started to look a bit fatigued as his efforts from Monday of playing two five sets matches (in singles and doubles) finally took its toll. As for Andy well its great to see him back in the semi finals at Wimbledon after his shock loss last year to Grigor Dimitrov at this stage but Andy will have a very stern test ahead of him if he is to progress to his third Wimbledon final.
And that test would come in the form of the winner of the next match between Roger Federer and Gilles Simon. On paper this sounded like a fairly easy match for Roger but if you look at their two previous grand slam matches Simon pushed Rog to five sets so it promised to be potentially a tricky encounter. But.... any fears of that were quickly dispelled as Roger continued the brilliant form he has shown so far in the tournament and broke Simon to grab the first set in just under 30 minutes. In the 2nd set Fed broke Simon again but as he served for the two set lead, Simon finally managed to break Roger's serve for the first time in the tournament! But despite levelling 5-5 in the 2nd, Simon was unable to hold serve again and Fed broke and grabbed the two set lead. And in the 3rd set Simon made a catalogue of errors which finally saw his thin resistance break down and Roger sealed a place in the semi finals with an impressive 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 scoreline. It has to be said that Roger so far has looked formidable in the tournament and he is yet to be properly tested but given that he will also be pretty fresh for the test that lies ahead between him and Andy but I will say more on that in a bit.
After this we had Novak Djokovic face his quarter final opponent from last year, Marin Cilic who pushed him to five sets in their previous match at Wimbledon. However this time Cilic was no such threat and it was Nole who remain solid as a rock throughout the match and he broke Cilic in each set who proved to be no match for the World No.1 which saw Novak reach the semis with a very comfortable 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory. Well after the intensive rigours of his previous five set battle this is just the match Novak would have hoped for and it will see him go into the semis feeling more refreshed especially given it was straight sets. Cilic to his credit however did put in a decent effort especially in getting back to the quarter finals again at Wimbledon but in the end as he is now on a 0-13 losing record to Novak he was never unfortunately going to beat him today.
And last of all we have what was the match of the day which was between Stan Wawrinka, the reigning French open champion and Richard Gasquet, the last remaining Frenchman in the tournament (at this point!). These two have only met twice previously having split their head to head with one win apiece and their last encounter was a riveting match at the French open two years ago which Stan won in five sets. And delightfully this match proved to be a similar encounter as both men went toe to toe in front of a thrilled Court No.1 crowd. And it was Gasquet that took the opening set before Stan fought back to take the 2nd and he went on to grab the 3rd set as well as it looked like the inevitable victory was awaiting him in the 4th. But in the 4th set the pressure got to Stan somewhat as at 4-5 he served a double fault to lose the set, which gave Gasquet a fighting chance as the match went to a deciding set. And in the 5th set both men engaged in a thrilling battle in which momentum swung to and fro and Gasquet like a man possessed broke Stan to serve for the match at 5-3 but Stan was not yet to be outdone as he broke back and play went by serve again. But at 10-9 with Stan serving to make it 10-10, Stan finally blinked as he saved two match points at 0-40 but was unable to save the 3rd which saw Gasquet fall to the ground in delight having pulled off a superb win with a 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 11-9 result.
There was not much doubt this was the match of the tournament so far on the men's side of the net and it was a terrific encounter as both men played their very best tennis for a full capacity crowd on Court No.1. And it seemed very likely that Stan given his impressive record in grand slams of late would that he would emerge the winner of this one but it was not to be. But Stan exits this tournament having given it his absolute all and there is disgrace in his defeat here and no doubt he will aim to come back stronger for the US Open. As for Gasquet well he deserves nothing but credit for his terrific fightback from two sets to one down and it sees him reach his 2nd Wimbledon semi final and his 3rd career semi final in grand slams. However things will not get any easier for him as he has a mighty challenge ahead of him but more on that soon.
So this sets up the men's Wimbledon semi finals: Andy Murray vs Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic vs Richard Gasquet. So it all begs the question..... who will win????
Well to start with Novak and Gasquet I think it really is a no brainer as put simply it will be Nole as he is the World No.1 and consistently reaching the finals of grand slams these days and not only that Novak has an emphatic head to head record over Gasquet leading 12-1. Not to mention Gasquet in their previous meeting at the French open barely made a dent against the Serb as he crushed the Frenchman and lost just a mere six games before winning. And I'm sure Nole would have been jumping for joy when he saw Stan go out as with Gasquet he's booked himself a very easy ticket into the final. Gasquet however might just be able to contest against Djokovic for one set but no more than that so I think it will be straight sets for the Serb and it will put him within touching distance of that 3rd Wimbledon title.
As for Andy and Roger's match...... well that one is a bit tougher to predict as both men are playing great tennis and arguably they have been the two best players in the tournament so far (and yes despite Novak's form I put him behind these two in respect of this event, even though I think he now has a safe passage into the final). Both men also so far remain unbeaten on grass this season as well as they both won grass court titles at Queens (Andy) and Halle (Roger) which makes this one even more difficult to decide. However.....and I hate to say this.... but I think Roger has the edge this time as while Andy has been very impressive during the tournament, I think Roger has been even more so. Roger also so far has only had his serve broken once in the whole tournament and that was by Gilles Simon today and he has served consistently well throughout the championships whereas Andy as we all know has had his struggles on serve.
But....that is not to say that Andy will not have his chances and he does have a very close head to head record against Roger as he trails only by one match 11-12 and you can't get any closer than that (well OK you could!). Also both men have met twice at SW19 albeit in two different events, the Wimbledon championships and the Olympic games with Rog winning the former and Andy the latter, so it promises to be a very close match indeed. Andy will also be hugely motivated by the home support from the crowd although given Federer's popularity it will make it difficult for Andy to have the full majority of the crowd on his side but he definitely does go into this one effectively as the underdog, which most crowds love to get behind.
Sooooooo this one will come down to simply whoever plays the better tennis on the day but one thing is for sure is if Andy is to win he will NEED to serve well or else it could be curtains and that is one of Roger's main strengths especially as he has sharpened his net skills under the coaching of Stefan Edberg. And my prediction..... and it pains me to say it..... is that I think Roger will win this one in four or five sets but it does promise to be a real cracker of a match and hopefully it will make up for the potential dud that could be the other semi final between Djokovic and Gasquet. I obviously would love to see Andy win this one but it will depend purely on his serve and Roger has always been the more solid and consistent server of the two and if Andy has a bad service day then that's him scuppered. So I sincerely hope I'm wrong but that's my prediction, Fed in four or five sets (Yep I know! Boo!!!).
Actually........you know what???? I'm changing my mind I'm going with Andy. After all that I've just said well I've had a change of heart and here's why. First off, Andy is playing great tennis and despite the odd dip on serve the rest of his game in the tournament has been immaculate. Secondly, Andy and Roger are one apiece as I said earlier at SW19 and in their last grand slam semi final at the Australian open two years ago, Andy came out on top and Roger similarly looked in great form at that tournament as well going into that match but couldn't quite live with Andy in the crucial moments of the 5th set. Thirdly, Andy so far in 2015 has only lost two matches to other players outside of Novak Djokovic since the end of February and they were Gilles Simon and Borna Coric and since then he has went unbeaten against any other player except the World No.1 and that should also give Andy alot of confidence given that he has won more matches so far this year than in any other season of his career. Fourthly, Andy is playing pain free after his back surgery he is back to full fitness and if he could beat Roger two years ago at the Australian open with a dodgy back he can surely beat him feeling both confident and fully fit. Fifthly, Andy has learned in recent times how to utilise the support of the home crowd and at Wimbledon he will have the crowd right behind him although it might be difficult to judge in this case as the audience could be split as Roger will have plenty of support himself from his fans there. But that home support and inspiration from the crowd might just give Andy that few extra percent he would need to get him over the finishing line. And last of all John McEnroe the former three time champion predicted that Andy would win the title this year and he usually get's it right and has got it right the last two years running, so let's hope he's got it right again!
So in my revised prediction I think Andy will win this match in five sets as there is no other way to beat Federer on grass at Wimbledon other than take him the distance. And this match also will essentially be a battle for the World No.2 ranking and it could decide who really is the world's second best player right now and whoever wins it will certainly deserve that mantle. Regarding my prediction of course I might be totally wrong and I think Roger still has a very strong shout himself and it will be an incredibly difficult match for Andy and he will need to serve as well as he possibly can and play a very consistent, solid match throughout if he is to win it, but I think he can do it and fingers crossed he will.
Rrrrrrright so that's it for now and I will be back soon with the results of the ladies semi finals matches which promised to be really good as we have Serena Williams take on Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwanska face Garbine Muguruza so I'll be sure to keep my eye on those ones.
And with that I shall bid yee goodnight!
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