Hi, folks. I hope you have been enjoying the tennis as much as I have. These slams really are a treat for better or for worse. I have decided to take a break from my studies to this week so I can make a post every day of this second week so I can keep you fully updated. That said, I don’t have much time for this post because the Anderson vs Wawrinka match will begin soon and I don’t want to miss a point of that.
Djokovic Gets the Job Done Against Lopez
This was the second match of the evening session which began very late since Cilic and Tsonga went to five sets, but I was not going to miss it. Djokovic gave a masterclass in the first set and opened the bakery to breadstick Lopez 6-1. He was raising his game from the RBA match, but then the same thing happened in the second set as he dropped his guard and allowed Lopez to get the early break.
That was not the worst thing that could happen as long as he broke back, but he failed to do so at 3-5 when he missed a very makeable pass to the open court and went on to drop the second set 6-3. Credit to Lopez though who was playing as well as he can, serving huge, showing off his skills at the net, and even blasting ground stroke winners. There were some tremendous rallies in this match and it was a high-quality affair.
Great entertainment. Going into the third set Djokovic had to be absolutely furious with himself after missing that very makeable pass to break back, and I think he showed it at the change of ends as he shouted loudly in Serbian sitting in his chair at the change of ends. But as we have seen time and time again from Djokovic he as this incredible ability to shake off those kinds of setbacks.
Against RBA, he stepped a racquet in half after dropping the first set. It seems he complete releases his frustration that way and then starts over as if nothing happened. The same thing happened at Wimbledon after he dropped the second set against Federer which should never have happened. It’s almost become a pattern now. So in the third set he quickly got the break and raced to a 3-0 lead. Back in charge.
He wrapped up the third set 6-3 to take a two sets to one lead. Then in the fourth set with Djokovic serving at 2-3 there was a long key game where Djokovic faced two break points after some more inspired play from Lopez. I think Djokovic saved both break points with unreturned serves and held serve. Both players continued to hold serve until the tie-break where the world #1 raised his level for a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(2) victory.
It was the usual workmanlike victory for Djokovic who wasn’t at his best throughout but again props to Lopez for playing extremely well. We are now into the business end of the tournament and I think Djokovic played better than against RBA. In the first set, he did for sure. That was just perfection and if he plays like that in the semis and final there is no way he will be defeated. But he also dropped his level again in the second set.
It is not the final yet after all. Djokovic is a big-match player and he knows when to peak. The more he can get away with poor form earlier on without expending too much energy the more good form he keeps for later on. That does not guarantee that he will peak for the semis and final. You could say he did the same at Montreal and Cincy and lost both finals. But if he had to play less than his best at Montreal and Cincy so he could play his best at the US Open I’d be more than happy with that.
I think he’s better so far than in those two events anyway. We will see what the deal is against Cilic next. Cilic has had a good amount of court time now and who knows how he will hold up physically. Djokovic schooled him in straight at Wimby but this is different and he is a potential danger. I’d like to see win comfortably, but I don’t want him to peak before the final either, which you can be sure he won’t.
Cilic Survives Tsonga in Five Sets
Cilic is still on course for his title defense but only just after defeating Tsonga 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6(3)-7, 6-4. Tsonga saved several match points in the fourth set and in the fifth as well I think but in the end Cilic scraped through. Who knows but the fightback from Tsonga may just cost Cilic in his next match. This was his second five-set match and he played a four-set match too. Cilic clearly played a lot more tennis than Tsonga so in that sense it favors Djokovic to play Cilic.
The head-to-head is 13-0 in Djokovic’s favor so I guess you could say Djokovic is the favorite.
Federer Gets Second Night Match and One Day of Rest
Stan vs Wawrinka will be the last match of the day session today on Ashe and Federer will play Gasquet in the second night match. Today’s quarterfinalists will also get only a day of rest before the semis compared to the top half who gets a welcome two-day break. This shouldn’t be a problem for Federer if he wins quickly tonight, but if it becomes a long match then it could well be decisive.
The good thing for him compared to last year is that he didn’t play Montreal is more rested than last year. He is also playing better. I can see Gasquet potentially winning a set tonight. That would still be ok, but I think Federer probably needs more help from the draw too. I think he needs to play Anderson in the semis. I think Stan would be a much tougher matchup for him and could even defeat him.
My feeling is he is going to get lucky and Anderson is going to win. But I’m not gonna underestimate Stan. This is the first time they will play in a slam and Stan is way more experienced than Anderson in slams. There is also the physical and mental tiredness that could play a role for Anderson who had a very demanding match against Murray. Whatever the case may be I can’t wait for it to start.
But what I wanted to say is that Federer did things the right way this year, but I still think he needs some help from the draw because he is not getting help from the schedule. If Djokovic makes the final he will be very fresh regardless of what happens against Cilic basically. And you just know if it’s a Djokerer the final that the likelihood of Federer straight-setting Djokovic is quite slim.
He’d probably have to win the first two sets to win the match. And if he is to do it in four sets he’s gonna need to be fresh. If it goes to five Djokovic becomes a big favorite. I know I’m getting big time into hypotheticals now. Djokovic can still lose to Cilic and Federer can lose to Gasquet or Stan/Anderson. I am just thinking long term and looking at different scenarios for interest sake. The main thing is to enjoy the tennis!
The Prediction Game
At a quick glance, it looks like Darrell, Krish, and Nakul won the previous round. All with 12 points. If I left anyone out I’m sorry, but I just don’t have much time left. Congrats to those guys anyway and keep your predictions coming in for the two quarterfinal matches today. I will update the rankings soon.
In Case, You Missed It…
I posted the below video as an update on my last post, but some of you may have missed it. I want everyone to see this because this is the reason Murray is not in the league of Fedalovic. But other than that it is just disgraceful behavior which makes me really dislike Murray. As an ex-tennis player, I can see he is trying to intimidate and unnerve Anderson with his disgusting and classless swearing.
It was after the second set where Anderson almost choked again and Murray was trying hard to get under his skin. Fortunately, Anderson wasn’t affected by it and was mentally very solid, but this is just pathetic and unacceptable behavior from the arrogant Scot. It makes me extremely happy that a good and classy guy like Anderson sent him back to Haggis land where he can cry without giving tennis players a bad name.
Murray really needs to take a good look at himself as a human being and as a tennis player if he wants to take it to the next level. This is another very poor result for him after being one of the pre-tournament favorites and his slam woes continue. He needs to stop the pathetic and negative behaviour on court and become a more attacking player if he wants to win another slam. The first two is already tainted.
Highlights
The is in your court.
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