Right, now its time for the men's semi finals and final preview at the 2016 US Open, so let's see who came out on top this time.....
SEMI FINALS
Novak Djokovic vs Gael Monfils
First up was the semi between Novak Djokovic, the World No.1 and Gael Monfils, the 10th seed in what promised to be a very intriguing match. Monfils had been in great form going into this match as he reached the semis without dropping a set, whereas Novak had something of a very easy ride going into this match thanks to a withdrawal and two retirements in his draw that saw him spend only 6 and a half hours on court going into this match.
And the match itself proved to be one of the most bizarre encounters you could ever see on a tennis court as both players had to play in punishing heat as the New York humidity hit its peak and it saw both men struggle on the court. And Monfils, despite his prior great form, started off horribly as he found himself a double break down in no time but not before he managed to break back once courtesy of a double fault from Novak on his own service. However despite that blip the No.1 managed to go on and serve out the first set. In the 2nd set things didn't get any better for Monfils as he seemed to be suffering in the heat and he then went down another double break to Novak who was starting to look better physically.
However the tide took an unexpected turn in the 3rd set when Monfils suddenly after going a break down and getting boos from the crowd for what seemed to be an apparent lack of trying, managed to break back and then went on to break Novak's serve and this unexpectedly saw him grab the 3rd set to keep himself alive. But in the 4th set, the heat and humidity really started to play its part as Monfils started to cramp up and he found himself yet again in big trouble as he was unable to hold serve and found himself broken yet again twice on serve as Novak hit a return winner to seal a place in his 21st grand slam final with a bizarre 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 win.
Well this really was one of the strangest matches you could ever see on a tennis court, which had some weird swings in momenum from both men. And Monfils himself at times really looked badly out of sorts in the match and understandably he did look nervous at the start as he failed to get on the board until the end of the first set. However Monfils did at times look almost disinterested in the match and he also tried the "slow ball" technique in order to distract Novak, which for a short time worked. But despite that Monfils does deserve a bit of credit for fighting back in the 3rd set and making a bit of a match of it before he eventually succumbed to the world no.1, who for the most part never looked in trouble.
However as for Novak himself, he did appear to be in a bit of a physical crisis during the match aswell as he served up a highly uncharacteristic number of double faults (seven for the match) that saw him dig himself into a hole but ultimately it was one he was able to get out of. And at one point during the match we also saw Novak get both of his shoulders massaged, which suggests his shoulder(s) problem could become an issue in the final but I guess time will tell on that one.
Stan Wawrinka vs Kei Nishikori
So next up was Stan "the man" Wawrinka who took on Kei Nishikori for a place in the final and both men came into this match in mixed form, with Stan overcoming Juan Martin del Potro and Kei stunning Andy Murray in an epic five set match. Stan historically held the edge in their head to head as he lead 3-2 but Kei did win the most recent of their clashes, which was in Canada.
As for the match itself, well it was Kei that made the stronger start as he came out the blocks very sharp and quickly broke Stan to grab the first set. And in the 2nd set, Kei carried on his fine form as he broke Stan early on to what looked like a two sets to love advantage being on the cards. However Stan was able to break back Kei and he soon went on to level the match with a set apiece. And from here, Stan took full charge of the match and stunned Kei as he got stronger with every game and sealed his place in his first US Open final with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 victory.
Well this in a way was not a surprising result given Stan's experience in the slams at the latter stages being greater than Kei's although I did expect Kei to actually win this match. But in the end it was Stan that showed his ability to grow into a match after a slow start and take control, which is something he is very good at.
FINAL PREDICTION
Sooooo.....this now sets up the men's final between Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka and it promises to be a cracker of a final given that both these men are no stranger to play epic matches in the majors.
So how will it go???? Well....to take a look at both men they have had contrasting draws and results coming into this final. Novak has certainly had the easier draw and ride into the final, having only played three full matches and had the benefit of a withdrawl at the hands of Jiri Vesily in the 2nd round, and two retirals from Mikhail Youzhny and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the 3rd round and quarter finals respectively. This might appear to give Novak a some what unfair advantage over Stan simply because the less amount of time he has spent on court so far as he has probably only been on court for a max of 9 hours whereas Stan will no doubt have been on alot more.
And Stan has so far had quite a tough time in getting to the final despite making a strong start in his first two matches, he then had to battle past Dan Evans in five sets, Ilya Marchenko in four sets, Juan Martin del Potro in four sets and also Kei Nishikori in four sets. However San has shown that he is truly battle hardy and when he is on he can really be on when he needs to be and he sure did bring it this fortnight in order to reach the final.
So as for my prediction...........well I know all the pundits will look at Novak as the favourite to win this because a) he is the world No.1 and b) he has spent way less time on court that Stan....but I have to go the other way and think Stan will take this one.
And the reason why I think Stan will win the title is because for starters he has had much more matchplay than Novak has had so far in this tournament and that will have made him match tight going into the final. Stan is also going into the final feeling fit and healthy whereas Novak is going in carrying a shoulder injury that could seriously hamper him against a quality opponent like Stan.
Not only that Stan has already beaten Novak twice in the majors at the Australian open two years ago and last year in the final of the French Open and he carries a perfect 2-0 in slam finals so far, so I think he could certainly make that 3-0 tomorrow evening.
And finally the reason why I think Stan could win is because out of all the slams, the US Open is the toughest to defend as no player has successfully defended it for eight years with Roger Federer being the last one to do so.
CUTTING TO THE CHASE (AT LAST!)
So as for my final prediction I think Stan will win this match in four close sets and it will be pretty tough but in the end I think he will overpower Novak and he should definitely do so if Novak's fitness becomes an issue. And I personally hope Stan does win the title as I think for Novak to win it, given the easy ride he has had so far, it would feel less deserved (but that's just me although I'm sure there other people that will agree).
So as for my scoreline prediction (which is never right!) I will go with this....
Wawrinka d. Djokovic 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5
OK so that's it for now and I will be back soon once the results for both the men and ladies are in.
Till the next one, its bye fer now!
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