Tennis
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Szlia
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Day 3: Seed-ageddon or how the bottom half of the draw does not look so tough anymore.
Sadly I only get to see some of the afternoon matches and the last set of the Federer match but:
- Darcis could not play because of his shoulder: Kubot goes through.
- Hewitt faced an on fire Brown (serve and volley on first and second serve, attempt at winners on every returns) and could not stand it.
- Benneteau [31] found an inspired Verdasco on his path.
- Isner [18] had some knee problem, played two games, could not serve, retired. Mannarino goes through.
- Cilic [10] could not play. De Schepper (!!) in the 3rd round.
- Tsonga [6] went on court with some tendinitis in the knee, probably hoping he could play through it, but lead two sets to one he had to stop. Gulbis is through.
- Federer [3] found himself in a very tight affair against the tricky Stakhovsky, A late break in the third and two out of three tie-breakers sealed a fair upset, Federer had an opportunity to extend the match to five sets at the end of the fourth, but Stakhovsky served an ace. The swiss also climbed back in the fourth set tie-breaker, but on a rally at 5-6 he stayed passive, daring Stakhovsky to win the match instead of taking matters in his own hand and he made the unforced error first. I am sure we will read many obituaries tomorrow, but it's all a little premature in my book. Federer played a number of tricky matches in early rounds of Grand Slams over the years (Benneteau, Falla, Malice in Wimbledon, Haas at the French, Tipsarevic at the Australian Open, Andreev at the US Open to name a few on top of my head) and he won them all, so he was due for an upset at some point. At least it happened against someone who played a very good match and has a great game (i have been posting about Stakhovsky for years even if he seemingly wins hardly any match!) instead of being sick/injured or playing terribly.
The third round of the third quarter of the draw will look like this: Kubot vs Paire [25], Mannarino vs Brown, Almagro [15] vs Janowicz [24], Melzer vs Stakhovsky. Here is a thought for you: one of these eight guys will be in a Grand Slam semi-final. A wtf moment when you consider how unreliable the three surviving seeds are. It's even worse (or better
) when you realize that even these third round matches are almost impossible to call. Crazy.
Suddenly, it's Djokovic's half of the draw that looks bad, because there is still Berdych in there. Murray must be in total disbelief at the moment. Suddenly his path to the final became, on paper, Robredo, Youzhny, Monaco, Almagro..... the last two could be Gulbis and Janowicz though, which is significantly less pleasant on grass.
It should be noted that in the WTA the bottom half of the draw also has only 7 surviving seeds, with both Azarenka and Sharapova losing today (vs Penetta and Larcher de Brito!) EDIT: Azarenka actually did not even play.
For fun, Gulbis punishing Tsonga for being cheeky:http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/inter...v-31lDK_l4ZTEk
Sadly I only get to see some of the afternoon matches and the last set of the Federer match but:
- Darcis could not play because of his shoulder: Kubot goes through.
- Hewitt faced an on fire Brown (serve and volley on first and second serve, attempt at winners on every returns) and could not stand it.
- Benneteau [31] found an inspired Verdasco on his path.
- Isner [18] had some knee problem, played two games, could not serve, retired. Mannarino goes through.
- Cilic [10] could not play. De Schepper (!!) in the 3rd round.
- Tsonga [6] went on court with some tendinitis in the knee, probably hoping he could play through it, but lead two sets to one he had to stop. Gulbis is through.
- Federer [3] found himself in a very tight affair against the tricky Stakhovsky, A late break in the third and two out of three tie-breakers sealed a fair upset, Federer had an opportunity to extend the match to five sets at the end of the fourth, but Stakhovsky served an ace. The swiss also climbed back in the fourth set tie-breaker, but on a rally at 5-6 he stayed passive, daring Stakhovsky to win the match instead of taking matters in his own hand and he made the unforced error first. I am sure we will read many obituaries tomorrow, but it's all a little premature in my book. Federer played a number of tricky matches in early rounds of Grand Slams over the years (Benneteau, Falla, Malice in Wimbledon, Haas at the French, Tipsarevic at the Australian Open, Andreev at the US Open to name a few on top of my head) and he won them all, so he was due for an upset at some point. At least it happened against someone who played a very good match and has a great game (i have been posting about Stakhovsky for years even if he seemingly wins hardly any match!) instead of being sick/injured or playing terribly.
The third round of the third quarter of the draw will look like this: Kubot vs Paire [25], Mannarino vs Brown, Almagro [15] vs Janowicz [24], Melzer vs Stakhovsky. Here is a thought for you: one of these eight guys will be in a Grand Slam semi-final. A wtf moment when you consider how unreliable the three surviving seeds are. It's even worse (or better
Suddenly, it's Djokovic's half of the draw that looks bad, because there is still Berdych in there. Murray must be in total disbelief at the moment. Suddenly his path to the final became, on paper, Robredo, Youzhny, Monaco, Almagro..... the last two could be Gulbis and Janowicz though, which is significantly less pleasant on grass.
It should be noted that in the WTA the bottom half of the draw also has only 7 surviving seeds, with both Azarenka and Sharapova losing today (vs Penetta and Larcher de Brito!) EDIT: Azarenka actually did not even play.
For fun, Gulbis punishing Tsonga for being cheeky:http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/inter...v-31lDK_l4ZTEk
Tarrant
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Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Federer, but I definitely am sick of the cult around him, which was in rare form today after he lost. The music was so ominous and sad it cracked me up. Can't anyone be happy for a huge upset? Stakhovsky played a tremendous match, totally fearless and fun as shit to watch.
Szlia
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It's a funeral for their ratings possibly
I am pretty sure swiss televison is not overjoyed to have paid huge TV rights only to see all the swiss players ousted after three days along with some crowd favorites such as Nadal and Tsonga. I don't know about you, but there are not that many Murray and Djokovic fans around here, so let's not even mention Berdych.
For ESPN, the early losses/injuries of Isner and Querrey are also a bummer. Even Ram, a very good grass court player, lost. They have to hope Blake manages to go on playing like he did in his first round, because Reynolds (facing Djokovic) and Kudla (young and on the rise though) are unlikely to bring them much joy. Things are brighter on the WTA for the US though... unless Garcia who upset Zeng in the first round decides to continue the seedicide. Still, the draw opened up nicely for Stephens with a quarter against Bartoli (strong on grass but playing poorly at the moment) and a semi against Kvitova (the only player left in the fourth quarter of the draw that is better ranked than her!).
For ESPN, the early losses/injuries of Isner and Querrey are also a bummer. Even Ram, a very good grass court player, lost. They have to hope Blake manages to go on playing like he did in his first round, because Reynolds (facing Djokovic) and Kudla (young and on the rise though) are unlikely to bring them much joy. Things are brighter on the WTA for the US though... unless Garcia who upset Zeng in the first round decides to continue the seedicide. Still, the draw opened up nicely for Stephens with a quarter against Bartoli (strong on grass but playing poorly at the moment) and a semi against Kvitova (the only player left in the fourth quarter of the draw that is better ranked than her!).
Yeah, I get what you're saying, but I think this shit is awesome. After nearly a decade of mostly predictable majors, it's nice to have everything turned on its head. We went from "omg Djoko has it so easy, but at least we'll get a Nadal/Fed clash in the quarters" to "what the fuck?" in only 3 days. It's also great that the two worst screechers are gone from the women's draw, even though it's too bad that Ivanovic is already gone.
That's still ok. We'll get some interesting/unusual matches late into the 2nd week, and that's more than we can usually count on.
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Szlia
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Day 3: The drizzle.
Rain in the late afternoon prevented the completion and even the start of some of the second round matches. On the head-chopping watch, Raonic [17] went down to dutch guy Sijsling in straight sets (I only saw the very end of it and Raonic was unable to return serve eight times in a row...). Blake played a decent match against Tomic, but the occasional poor game was already too much today as the australian was serving extremely well. The veteran american can be disappointed by the fact he twice fought back from a break down only to immediately play a terrible game. With Kudla and Reynolds (who was pretty competitive during a set and a half against Djokovic) also out, the stars and stripes are at half-mast. In the dark horse category, Llodra is also out. He retired after losing the first set because he has a little problem with his leg and did not want to jeopardize his double performance (oddly, he played double later in the day and his opponents retired...).
On the head-chopping watch, it should be noted that rain stopped Chardy [28] at one set all against unheralded german qualifier Struff (the guy beat both Kunitsyn and Kavcic, who are serious journeyman, in straight sets, so he must be doing something right). More importantly, Dimitrov [29] is trailing 8-9 in the fifth against slovenian Zemlja, so he will have to come back tomorrow and start by serving to stay in the match! That will be a fun night!
On a side note, Petra Martic is a croatian player who reached the fourth round of the french last year with a very pleasant offensive game with a lot of drop shots and transition toward the net. I remember thinking 'she might do an even better run at Wimbledon'... well... she lost first round and is currently out of the Top 100, BUT she is in the third round this year
Rain in the late afternoon prevented the completion and even the start of some of the second round matches. On the head-chopping watch, Raonic [17] went down to dutch guy Sijsling in straight sets (I only saw the very end of it and Raonic was unable to return serve eight times in a row...). Blake played a decent match against Tomic, but the occasional poor game was already too much today as the australian was serving extremely well. The veteran american can be disappointed by the fact he twice fought back from a break down only to immediately play a terrible game. With Kudla and Reynolds (who was pretty competitive during a set and a half against Djokovic) also out, the stars and stripes are at half-mast. In the dark horse category, Llodra is also out. He retired after losing the first set because he has a little problem with his leg and did not want to jeopardize his double performance (oddly, he played double later in the day and his opponents retired...).
On the head-chopping watch, it should be noted that rain stopped Chardy [28] at one set all against unheralded german qualifier Struff (the guy beat both Kunitsyn and Kavcic, who are serious journeyman, in straight sets, so he must be doing something right). More importantly, Dimitrov [29] is trailing 8-9 in the fifth against slovenian Zemlja, so he will have to come back tomorrow and start by serving to stay in the match! That will be a fun night!
On a side note, Petra Martic is a croatian player who reached the fourth round of the french last year with a very pleasant offensive game with a lot of drop shots and transition toward the net. I remember thinking 'she might do an even better run at Wimbledon'... well... she lost first round and is currently out of the Top 100, BUT she is in the third round this year
Neki
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Andy Murray: Serena Williams would face British number one - BBC Sport
Are you kidding me? I mean, this is just a no brainer. Just compare the physiques of them two and tell me who is going to win
Dunno about the tennis but in a fight, I would fancy Serena's chances with those arms
Szlia
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Day 4: It's tough being a Kingslayer.
Stakhovsky beats Federer? Veteran Melzer does not care and wins in four. Brown ousts Hewitt? Mannarino reads his serve well, makes him play tough volley after tough volley and wins comprehensively. Bouchard beats Ivanovic? Suarez-Navarro is unimpressed. Larcher de Brito outplays Sharapova? Knapp rewards her with a straight sets defeat. It's tough being a Kingslayer.
Anyway, the 2nd round of the top half got completed today, but only half the third round matches of the bottom half could be played, thanks to the rain.
Dimitrov [29] did lose his match. I tought he did the toughest part by holding a very long (re)oppening service game to tie the game at 9-9, but Zemlja - who certainly managed to sleep - played a cleaner tennis for the get go and bagged the next two games to win the match). The upset of the day though was brought to you by polish juggernaut Janowicz [24] who despite trailing by a Break in the first set against Almagro [15] (who only conceded a total of three break chances in his two previous rounds) found a way to win in straight sets with just the one tie-breaker. Impressive serving was expected and delivered, but he also tormented the favorite with his second serve returns and proved both more consistent and more aggressive in the rallies.
I'll go through the whole draw once the third round is completed, but let's consider this for the time being: For his round of sixteen match, Murray (who today comfortably beat Robredo as expected) was supposed to play the fourteenth seed, Tipsarevic. As it stands, he will play at worst the 20th seed, Youzhny. If that is the case, that would be, on paper, his toughest match until the final since he could have faced the seeds N?3,5,6,10,11,15 or 18... but they all lost!
Stakhovsky beats Federer? Veteran Melzer does not care and wins in four. Brown ousts Hewitt? Mannarino reads his serve well, makes him play tough volley after tough volley and wins comprehensively. Bouchard beats Ivanovic? Suarez-Navarro is unimpressed. Larcher de Brito outplays Sharapova? Knapp rewards her with a straight sets defeat. It's tough being a Kingslayer.
Anyway, the 2nd round of the top half got completed today, but only half the third round matches of the bottom half could be played, thanks to the rain.
Dimitrov [29] did lose his match. I tought he did the toughest part by holding a very long (re)oppening service game to tie the game at 9-9, but Zemlja - who certainly managed to sleep - played a cleaner tennis for the get go and bagged the next two games to win the match). The upset of the day though was brought to you by polish juggernaut Janowicz [24] who despite trailing by a Break in the first set against Almagro [15] (who only conceded a total of three break chances in his two previous rounds) found a way to win in straight sets with just the one tie-breaker. Impressive serving was expected and delivered, but he also tormented the favorite with his second serve returns and proved both more consistent and more aggressive in the rallies.
I'll go through the whole draw once the third round is completed, but let's consider this for the time being: For his round of sixteen match, Murray (who today comfortably beat Robredo as expected) was supposed to play the fourteenth seed, Tipsarevic. As it stands, he will play at worst the 20th seed, Youzhny. If that is the case, that would be, on paper, his toughest match until the final since he could have faced the seeds N?3,5,6,10,11,15 or 18... but they all lost!
Grimmlokk
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Szlia
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It's a bit dumb, but the players left in the draw are not exactly pushovers. Troicki, Verdasco, Gulbis and Melzer are unseeded, but at their best they have been ranked respectively 12, 7, 21 and 8. These guys can play. Kubot and Mannarino are currently outside the top 100 and made the most of the circumstances, but have been top 50 players. Really, the oddity is De Schepper who plays at challenger level. He won his fifth atp match in career against a clay court journeyman in the first round and got a walkover in the second. Still... the guy is 6'8" so unless he really sucks at serving, breaking him on grass must be tough. All that to say: Murray is the heavy favorite, but I would be more shocked by a lack of competitive matches along the way than by an upset to the hand of Gulbis or Janowicz.
Szlia
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Day 5: Giant Killers die as much as giants
- Tomic beat Gasquet [9] in an extraordinarily close match as both displayed an uncanny ability to save break points (a total of two breaks out of 15 opportunities). Tomic who possibly played with a little less pressure managed to do just enough to win the two tie-breakers they had to play. A bitter pill to swallow for Gasquet when you consider he lost in four sets (6-7 7-5 5-7 6-7) while winning 13 more points than Tomic!
- Sijsling beat Raonic but had scored one game to Dodig's 13 when he retired.
- Nishikori [12] played zig-zag with Seppi [23] but instead of Nishikori ziging to victory in the fifth, Seppi zaged at 4-4.
- Paire [25] served a little more aces and fired a little more winners than Kubot but he was worst in just every single other metrics, so Kubot won easily in straight sets.
- Gulbis beat Tsonga, but the Verdasco of the day was an even more formidable opponent. Verdasco's brilliant serving and consistent yet aggressive ground strokes from start to finish could only be bested by a flawless and very opportunistic performance and Gulbis only delivered an ok match, with the occasional poor game and a wing-clipping inability to tighten the screws when the few and far-between half-chances arose.
- De Schepper broke Monaco [22] once in each set and thanks to almost 80% (!!!) first serve lost serve just the once... and won the tie-breaker in that one. I regret not seeing any of this one, because while it's fair to assume the De Shepper size and ranking mean he has a great serve but is not very consistent and is unable to return well and/or rally well (I mean, if you are tough to break and yet hardly win on tour, it must mean it's tougher for you to break than it is easy for you to hold). BUT this theory is a bit hurt by the fact De Schepper manufactured 11 break points! ... beuh...
Anyway, the slaughter that was this first week end up with only 6 of the top 16 seeds reaching the Round of 16 (Djokovic [1], Murray [2], Ferrer [4], Berdych [7], Del Potro [8], Haas [13]). To add insult to injury only 3 of the 10 surprise guests are low seeds (Youzhny [20], Seppi [23], Janowicz [24]). A big round of applause for Tomic, Dodig, Kubot, Mannarino, Melzer, Verdasco and De Schepper!
THE DRAW
DJOKOVIC[1] had tough moments here and there, loose moments here and there, but overall he has been in total control, reaching this stage without dropping a set, without dropping a serve even and facing a grand total of 3 break points... pretty insane stuff.
vs
HAAS[13] faced one stern test with Lopez, but he passed almost with flying colors, dropping just the one set.
This match is the only one that was expected when we saw the draw a week ago, so on paper it is the most competitive. It should also be noted that Haas beat Djokovic the two times they played on grass previously (both in 2009). Haas also won against Djokovic earlier in the year on hard court, but it took an extremely opportunistic Haas to keep their recent match at the french relatively close. The numbers Djokovic is posting on serve are just scary, but they could stumble down to human level when facing an opponent against whom the question is not "How long will it take me to win?", but "Will I play well enough on the day to win?" My heart says Haas in four!
TOMICis really not here by accident. The draw did not open for him: he teared through it. A tough battle against Querrey in five, flawless performance against grass lover Blake and now super clean performance against grass lover Gasquet.
vs
BERDYCH[7] is for my money the current 3rd seed and the most serious outsider to lift the trophy next Sunday. He got tested by Anderson, but responded very well.
Tomic likes to mix things up, changing paces, directions, trajectories. If he is able to do it, he could throw Berdych off his game or draw him to the net where he is out of his comfort zone, but the pace and weight on Berdych's shots make it very hard to mix things up without making a ton of unforced errors. An intriguing match-up, but I'll favor Berdych's power.
FERRER[4] is the first to admit that he is not much of a grass court player, but that does not prevent him from competing. No matter what, he'll compete and as long as no one manages to beat him, he'll go to the next round and compete again and if it takes a five sets battle just like it did against Dolgopolov... so be it.
vs
DODIGwon two out of his three matches on retirements, but he still deserves a lot of credit for managing to extend his first round match against Kohlschreiber to a fifth set after losing the first two.
I suspect it will be a tough match with Ferrer winning in the end
SEPPI[23] benefited from a retirement (Llodra), but he also battled for five sets against Istomin and Nishikori. The guy loves a fast surface and reached two grand slam quarter finals before.
vs
DEL POTRO[8] is not much of a grass court player and the draw opened up for him, but he still won all his matches in straight sets.
For me the question with Del Potro on grass is not "Will he win?" but "Who will beat him?", but as seeds and grass lovers dropped left and right, it seems the "who" will arrive late, if at all. Not Seppi though.
KUBOThas Darcis to think for his path in the draw, but he also posted a very clean victory against Paire [25].
vs
MANNARINObenefited from Isner's retirement and from Hewitt's inability to confirm after ousting Wawrinka, but the talented frenchman still had to deal with Brown and did so brilliantly.
I am not calling this one.
JANOWICZ[24] is here thanks to a spotless performance against Almagro [15].
vs
MELZERdodged the Federer bullet and capitalized on Stakhovsky's post upset blues.
A cunning veteran against a youngster with huge weapons... I am very curious to see how this one will play out.
VERDASCOfaced Malisse, Benneteau and Gulbis, so really a tough draw on grass, yet the unseeded Spaniard not only won, but lost just the one set in a tie-breaker! Impressive.
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DE SCHEPPERhas no business being here, but no one told him.
Verdasco is the clear favorite here, but a confident De Schepper could mean several tie-breakers.
YOUZHNY[20] is a resourceful player who arrives on the back of a finale in Halle. At the very least he should make it tough to beat him.
vs
MURRAY[2] cruised through his first three matches.
Murray is the heavy favorite and he will remain so until the final. Still, Youzhny should be able to force at least a couple competitive sets, so it will be interesting to see how Murray reacts when tested.
- Tomic beat Gasquet [9] in an extraordinarily close match as both displayed an uncanny ability to save break points (a total of two breaks out of 15 opportunities). Tomic who possibly played with a little less pressure managed to do just enough to win the two tie-breakers they had to play. A bitter pill to swallow for Gasquet when you consider he lost in four sets (6-7 7-5 5-7 6-7) while winning 13 more points than Tomic!
- Sijsling beat Raonic but had scored one game to Dodig's 13 when he retired.
- Nishikori [12] played zig-zag with Seppi [23] but instead of Nishikori ziging to victory in the fifth, Seppi zaged at 4-4.
- Paire [25] served a little more aces and fired a little more winners than Kubot but he was worst in just every single other metrics, so Kubot won easily in straight sets.
- Gulbis beat Tsonga, but the Verdasco of the day was an even more formidable opponent. Verdasco's brilliant serving and consistent yet aggressive ground strokes from start to finish could only be bested by a flawless and very opportunistic performance and Gulbis only delivered an ok match, with the occasional poor game and a wing-clipping inability to tighten the screws when the few and far-between half-chances arose.
- De Schepper broke Monaco [22] once in each set and thanks to almost 80% (!!!) first serve lost serve just the once... and won the tie-breaker in that one. I regret not seeing any of this one, because while it's fair to assume the De Shepper size and ranking mean he has a great serve but is not very consistent and is unable to return well and/or rally well (I mean, if you are tough to break and yet hardly win on tour, it must mean it's tougher for you to break than it is easy for you to hold). BUT this theory is a bit hurt by the fact De Schepper manufactured 11 break points! ... beuh...
Anyway, the slaughter that was this first week end up with only 6 of the top 16 seeds reaching the Round of 16 (Djokovic [1], Murray [2], Ferrer [4], Berdych [7], Del Potro [8], Haas [13]). To add insult to injury only 3 of the 10 surprise guests are low seeds (Youzhny [20], Seppi [23], Janowicz [24]). A big round of applause for Tomic, Dodig, Kubot, Mannarino, Melzer, Verdasco and De Schepper!
THE DRAW
DJOKOVIC[1] had tough moments here and there, loose moments here and there, but overall he has been in total control, reaching this stage without dropping a set, without dropping a serve even and facing a grand total of 3 break points... pretty insane stuff.
vs
HAAS[13] faced one stern test with Lopez, but he passed almost with flying colors, dropping just the one set.
This match is the only one that was expected when we saw the draw a week ago, so on paper it is the most competitive. It should also be noted that Haas beat Djokovic the two times they played on grass previously (both in 2009). Haas also won against Djokovic earlier in the year on hard court, but it took an extremely opportunistic Haas to keep their recent match at the french relatively close. The numbers Djokovic is posting on serve are just scary, but they could stumble down to human level when facing an opponent against whom the question is not "How long will it take me to win?", but "Will I play well enough on the day to win?" My heart says Haas in four!
TOMICis really not here by accident. The draw did not open for him: he teared through it. A tough battle against Querrey in five, flawless performance against grass lover Blake and now super clean performance against grass lover Gasquet.
vs
BERDYCH[7] is for my money the current 3rd seed and the most serious outsider to lift the trophy next Sunday. He got tested by Anderson, but responded very well.
Tomic likes to mix things up, changing paces, directions, trajectories. If he is able to do it, he could throw Berdych off his game or draw him to the net where he is out of his comfort zone, but the pace and weight on Berdych's shots make it very hard to mix things up without making a ton of unforced errors. An intriguing match-up, but I'll favor Berdych's power.
FERRER[4] is the first to admit that he is not much of a grass court player, but that does not prevent him from competing. No matter what, he'll compete and as long as no one manages to beat him, he'll go to the next round and compete again and if it takes a five sets battle just like it did against Dolgopolov... so be it.
vs
DODIGwon two out of his three matches on retirements, but he still deserves a lot of credit for managing to extend his first round match against Kohlschreiber to a fifth set after losing the first two.
I suspect it will be a tough match with Ferrer winning in the end
SEPPI[23] benefited from a retirement (Llodra), but he also battled for five sets against Istomin and Nishikori. The guy loves a fast surface and reached two grand slam quarter finals before.
vs
DEL POTRO[8] is not much of a grass court player and the draw opened up for him, but he still won all his matches in straight sets.
For me the question with Del Potro on grass is not "Will he win?" but "Who will beat him?", but as seeds and grass lovers dropped left and right, it seems the "who" will arrive late, if at all. Not Seppi though.
KUBOThas Darcis to think for his path in the draw, but he also posted a very clean victory against Paire [25].
vs
MANNARINObenefited from Isner's retirement and from Hewitt's inability to confirm after ousting Wawrinka, but the talented frenchman still had to deal with Brown and did so brilliantly.
I am not calling this one.
JANOWICZ[24] is here thanks to a spotless performance against Almagro [15].
vs
MELZERdodged the Federer bullet and capitalized on Stakhovsky's post upset blues.
A cunning veteran against a youngster with huge weapons... I am very curious to see how this one will play out.
VERDASCOfaced Malisse, Benneteau and Gulbis, so really a tough draw on grass, yet the unseeded Spaniard not only won, but lost just the one set in a tie-breaker! Impressive.
vs
DE SCHEPPERhas no business being here, but no one told him.
Verdasco is the clear favorite here, but a confident De Schepper could mean several tie-breakers.
YOUZHNY[20] is a resourceful player who arrives on the back of a finale in Halle. At the very least he should make it tough to beat him.
vs
MURRAY[2] cruised through his first three matches.
Murray is the heavy favorite and he will remain so until the final. Still, Youzhny should be able to force at least a couple competitive sets, so it will be interesting to see how Murray reacts when tested.