Favorites Federer, Murray, Roddick, Djokovic Looking Good in Wimbledon Quarters
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So my Wimbledon quarterfinal upset pick of Tomas Berdych over Andy Roddick didn’t quite go as I thought did it? Roddick played his best match while Berdych did what Berdych often does, go away just when you place your chips on him. Credit to Roddick though for playing huge. ADHEREL
Looking ahead to tomorrow, Roger Federer’s tussle with Ivo Karlovic is for me the highlight of the day. It’s probably going to be lousy tennis, with plenty of aces, short points and quick games. But with so much on the line for Federer and with the way Ivo’s been serving – his serve has yet to be broken this year on grass! – we are going to see some tight sets and nervy moments. Then again, Federer could get a good read on Karlovic’s serve and blow him out, but I think Ivo gets a set, pushes Roger to a few tiebreaks and keeps it close, losing in four.
Lleyton Hewitt’s been playing some of his best tennis in years and he extended Roddick to two tiebreaks at Queen’s. Hewitt, though, hinted at a leg issue in his latest win over Radek Stepanek which doesn’t bode well for the Australian if in fact it’s a real problem. So I’m picking Roddick here. Andy really upped his play impressively against Berdych and I think the momentum he gained from that win carries over against Hewitt. It won’t be easy, it won’t be pretty, but Roddick advances in four sets.
Andy Murray survived his requisite “tough match” outlasting Stan Wawrinka in the first complete contest played under the new Wimbledon roof yesterday. Wednesday, he gets the former World No. 1 and one-time King of Clay Juan Carlos Ferrero who like Hewitt is also finding new life in his later years. Unfortunatly for the Spaniard, he just not strong enough nor fleet enough anyone to handle Murray. I’ll take the Briton in straights.
And in the fourth semifinal, Novak Djokovic meets Tommy Haas in probably the toughest match to call. Haas beat Novak earlier this month on grass at Halle and like Murray, and even Hewitt, he had his “gut check” match against Marin Cilic saving two match points in a five-set thriller last week. Meanwhile, Djokovic has been cruising. The “under-the-radar guy” seems to building strength with each passing set and could be peaking at the right time. It’s a toss up match, but I’ll go with Novak in four sets.
As for the women, no surprises, really. Venus and Serena Williams are absolutely on another planet when it comes to grass court tennis. It’s frankly frightening just how much distance there is, or seems to be, between them and the next group. That said, I fully expect Venus to take the title again over her younger sister come Saturday.
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