Nadal vs Simon
It has to be said - Nadal did not enter the competition as the favorite, which is a true disgrace as he is the top seed. As all eyes were heavily focused on his rivals, Nadal was quietly going through, nay, razing through his section of the draw. Time to make a U-turn, as he is most likely to wind up in the final.
Expect this encounter with Simon to be a marathon of sorts. Lots of baseline rallies from both players, and Simon risking a little bit more to out manouver Nadal. Still, the Frenchman will not have all the answers in his Grand Slam QF debut, and will fold in four sets.
Verdasco vs Tsonga
Tsonga is out there to prove his finish last year was no one-hit wonder. And Verdasco is suddenly gaining attention for slapping pundits and Andy Murray out of the tournament. I'm favoring Muhammad Ali here for a strong finish.
Roddick vs Djokovic
Hey, everyone seems to have forgotten poor Andy Roddick as a GS contender. He's been coasting like Nadal through his draw, but the draw gods were not kind to Roddick as he faces the defending champion in the QF. Nole will get through by utilising his complete game and off-balancing Andy with superior shot placement. I'd say 4 sets.
Del Potro vs Federer
That near-miss from Federer must still sting by now. When Tipsarevic tried to tug at Federer last year, King Roger was maimed and fell by the semis. This year, Roger fell behind 2 sets down but managed a glorious comeback. I think that if Del Potro nabs a set off him - Roger will go crash and burn. Not just yet, not in this round yet.
Semis and Final
Nadal over Tsonga in 5 stellar sets. I want to see Nadal win over Tsonga as revenge for last year's loss. It was so bad for Nadal that I actually had to use 'helpless' to describe him. How often does that happen?
Hopefully, another replay of 2008 semis, both with different results. No time to wast for Federer in surpassing Pete's record, but Nadal is a major threat. I'm going for Nadal to win his first hardcourt major, and Federer left following the sport's pecking order as #2.
4 talkbacks:
and you were doubting my Gilles Simon qf pick... :p
Yeah, this is definitely Nadal's Grand Slam to lose.
Ok, ok. Now I'm a fan of Simon. I used to shrug him off as a decent player who can sprint like the wind. It seems to me that he has agood measure of the court and perceptive enough to create and use the opening in a rally to win points.
It's easy to watch Simon and think that he's just a speedy counter-puncher, but he really has a nice baseline game. He plays smart, controls the ball well on both wings, and he's got a great backhand down the line.
Plus he's French, and I always root for the French players ever since I saw Mary Pierce on my tv :p
Inulit mo lang ang sinabi ko!
Anyway, I don't like Tsonga, but I like his game. Monfils looks like he's diseased or something, Clement is a bit to flashy for my tastes, and Gasquet is too much of a headcase to be worth rooting for.
That leads me to Grosjean, who's pretty much all right and the magician Santoro.
Mary Pierce is a different league. =)
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