Monday, 29 June 2009

Round of 16, Round Up...




Fed v Sod

Straight sets as I expected, but from what little I caught this was a lot more competitive than any of their previous sets. Next up Dr
Ivo.

A-Rod v
Berdych

Didn't catch any of this. But I was glad to see him get through in straights. Will give him some confidence ahead of his next match against
Lleyton.

Hewitt v
Stepanek

This one went the distance with injury timeouts all over the place.
Lleyton will be spent. Irrespective of when he's scheduled to play, you have to go with Roddick now.

Simon v
Ferrero

It just gets better and better. The Juan-Carlos
Ferr-airy tale is not at an end just yet. He'll be playing the winner of the latest match ever to finish on Centre Court. Andy and Stan are slugging it out as we 'speak'.

Haas v
Andreev

Straight sets. Unreal. This fairy tale lives on too. Haas versus
Djoko next. Yes Haas beat him on grass two weeks back. No I'm not about to read anything into it.

Djoko v Sela

Toldyaso.

Nando v Karlovic

I was backing
Nando but I'm actually kind of pleased to see Ivo come through to his first ever Wimbledon quarter. His game is rather boring, but anyone with a freak of a serve like that deserves more success on grass.

Safina v Mauresmo

When
Safina went down 0-3 in the final set, I thought it was all over. Somehow Dinara clawed her way through in a way I still don't completely understand. Really, Amelie should have closed it out.

Wozniacki v Lisicki

I was really quite surprised and disappointed with what I saw from Caroline. I don't think she's the type of player that plays very well with her back up against the wall.
Lisicki's confidence and positivity was only surpassed by her pace. But we know all about that and I expected nothing less. Caroline on the other hand was showing what can only be described borderline petulance.

Venus v
Ivanovic

Didn't think Ana would have got a set from Venus anyway, but I can't help feeling for her after the way she went out. Having a freak injury like that end her
Wimby campaign, one in which she appeared to be finally gaining some momentum, is cruel and I don't understand why things like it happen. But they do.

Radwanska v Oudin

A-Rad through in straights.
Likey, likey, likey.

Dementieva v Vesnina

Dementieva through in straights. Likey, likey, likey.

Azarenka v Petrova

Well I had my first great test of trying to defend Victoria's indefensible behaviour today. "WHY YOU GUYS HAVE SO MUCH POWER TO RUIN MATCHES!?", she screamed at the umpire after an overrule that went against her.
Erm, because it's their job maybe?

Less easy to laugh off though, is her mock attack of a
linesperson, in whose direction she pretended to launch a ball after losing a game that involved a disputed call, thankfully deciding against it at the last second. Borderline assault, and I'm surprised she didn't get a code violation.

Nadia got some treatment early on after having some problems coping with the heat. And to her credit she won the next set. But I can see why more and more people are picking Victoria as the best of the rest, outside of the
Williamses.

Serena v
Hantuchova

An absurd, one-sided, butchery of a contest. Which is what I thought it'd be.

Murray v
Wawrinka

And so we come to our match of the day. And probably of the tournament.

(Photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Within minutes of the opening game, it became clear we were going to see something special.

-- New found respect for Stan, who came out and played such a
blinder of an opening set it left Murray and the entire crowd stone cold. Especially sobering, after the pageantry we had with the closing of the roof, that began during the previous match between Safina and Mauresmo. Probably the best set of tennis he's ever played.

-- Any doubts I might have had about Murray's fitness are well and truly vanquished. Well, maybe I'll continue to entertain little doubts about his ability in searing heat. But this has to be his his best five set victory yet.

-- Stan
Wawrinka has the best single handed backhand in the world. There, I said it. Gasquet may have the more stylish action but Stan's does a lot more damage.

-- Latest ever finish at Wimbledon. The match lasted three hours 56 minutes, with the end coming at 2238 BST.

(Photo: Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images)

-- Loved the fact that for once Murray brewed up just the right blend of rope a dope tennis and more aggressive play. I'd say in a 30-70 percent ratio.

-- Murray could barely walk in the last set and
performed an elaborate balancing act of trying to conserve his energy and going all out attack.

-- Murray said at the end he'd derive confidence from this five set win. Yeah. But don't you think the on court interview right after the match was a bit much? The guy could barely walk - I'm surprised he strung a sentence together.

-- That 9 shot rally Murray played with a broken string. A series of forehand slices, willing Stan to crack first. Best point I've seen at this event and the
weirdest I've seen in recent years.

-- British crowd weren't as loud as I expected them to be. In fact it was all very well behaved and in surprisingly good taste. A+. Five gold stars. But at one point I was willing them to show more vociferous support for Andy. In fact I believe Andy tried to rouse them up at one point in
the third set.

-- Stan belongs back in the top ten. Get back in there fast. I miss your backhand already.

-- Murray will get a day's rest followed by a (hopefully) less challenging match against Juan Carlos. Or so I think.

Thoughts too muddled to compose anything more coherent right now.
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