It’s happened.
Nole has been drawn against Murray. Fed will play Rafa in the semis of a Slam for the first time since RG 2005.
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 |
| Nole | |||
| Rafa |
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 |
| Vika | |||
Legend
Hoity-Toity
Upwardly-Mobile
Sympathy Vote
Ideas above their station
Stacked
Let me guess, the counter-conspiracy theory goes something like this: Oz are merely performing an elaborate tap-dance, so we might lower our guard to all that nasty draw-rigging that regularly goes on at every Slam. There’s even Maths involved.
Whatever. But this is weird – Vika comes into this 1) uninjured and otherwise healthy, 2) having won an event just this weekend 3) drawn as far from Serena as is geometrically and humanely possible.
Anyone that’s followed Vika’s GS career knows that this is akin to jellyfish discovering a colony of unicorns on Mars. Knowing her luck it’s probably best to wait and see exactly how it plays out.
Other bits and bobs:
1) Murray goes through Ryan,Ernie, Gael and Tsonga before even getting a crack at Nole. In as much as there is a short straw, I’d say he drew it.
2) Tomic/Fer (R1)..…just, AHAHAHAHA.
3) Pova/Dulko (R1)….NOT FUNNY….NOT COOL
4) Maria goes through Dulko, Sveta/Sabine and Serena before even getting a crack at Petra….so short it barely qualifies as a straw.
5) The Chak is back!
6) Other than a R16 encounter with Milos (which sounds completely groovy), can’t imagine Nole will have much trouble making the semis.
7) I’d like Fed/Delpo to be the QF blockbuster some are hoping for….Delpo just doesn’t seem quite there yet.
8) Not to be unkind, but Rafa’s section is full of has-beens. There’s a small chance the likes of Nalbie nabs a set off him but that’s it.
9) Would be nice to see Grigor make something of his life…at some point. Especially after interviews like this.
10) LRob has just qualified to play JJ in R1. She almost squeezed a set from Maria last year. I’m not predicting an upset, but it should be colourful. More than anything involving JJ usually is.
11) Kim/Li R16….When was the last time two current Grand Slam Champions played each other this early????
12) Difficult to know what to expect from Woz right now – I can see her getting through her early rounds, although I can also see Lucie upsetting her…maybe even in straights. Hope she survives – kinda want to see her go through Kim. It will be a big big Mountain Gorilla off her back.
13) Marion aside, Petra’s draw is kinda cake-walky (sorry Sam). As is always the case with Petra, this has absolutely no bearing on her chances of winning or losing ANYTHING.
Potential Early Round Mashups:
MURRAY/RYAN (R1), Troicki/Gael (R3), Dolgo/Tomic (R3), Grigor/Baggy (R3), Rafa/Young (R3)
Lucie/JJ (R3), Kim/Dani (R3), Vika/Watson (R1), Flavia/Peng (R3), Fran/Julia (R3), Bepa/Kanepi (R3), Domi/Serena (R3), Sabine/Sveta (R3), POVA/DULKO (R1), Sam/Nadia (R3), Marion/Zheng (R3), Pavs/Ana (R3), Kiri/Petra (R3)
Maybe it’s just me, but are WTA third rounds usually this stacked?
R4 meet’n not-greets:
(ATP) Nole/Milos, Janko/Ferrer, Murray/Gael, Fed/Dolgo, Rafa/Nalb
(WTA) Woz/JJ, KIM/LI, Vika/Peng, Fran/Aga, Bepa/Serena, Pova/Sveta, Sam/Marion
QF drive-bys:
(ATP): Nole/Ferrer, Murray/Tsonga, Delpo/Fed, Berd/Rafa
(WTA): Woz/Kim, Vika/Fran, Serena/Pova. Marion/Petra
Oh yeah. And that small matter of Petra/Serena facing off in the semis.
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