A blockbuster quarterfinal on Friday in Cincinnati pits Roger Federer against Andy Murry. Meanwhile, at least one Spaniard will be in the last four after David Ferrer goes up against Tommy Robredo.
(8) Andy Murray vs. (2) Roger Federer
Federer and Murray will be squaring off for the 22nd time in their careers when they collide in the Western & Southern Open quarterfinals on Friday night. Murray leads the head-to-head series 11-10, including 10-9 on hard courts. They most recently faced each other earlier this season at the Australian Open, where Federer won a quarterfinal encounter 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3. The two competitors have met twice in Cincinnati; Murray pulled off a stunning 7-5, 6-4 upset in 2006 before Federer prevailed 6-2, 7-6(8) in the 2009 semis.
Both men had to work hard to reach this point. Federer needed three sets against both Vasek Pospisil and Gael Monfils in order to regain some momentum after losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in last week’s Toronto final. Murray destroyed Joao Sousa in his opener but then had to save two match points in a 6-7(3), 6-4, 7-6(2) win over John Isner. A relatively early exit in Toronto (quarterfinals against Tsonga) may ultimately benefit the Scot in Cincinnati, but fatigue has never been a major issue for Federer. And the 33-year-old will be the first to tell you that he almost always improves in tournaments as they progress.
Pick: Federer in 3
[polldaddy poll=8246986]
(16) Tommy Robredo vs. (6) David Ferrer
It will be an all-Spanish affair when Robredo and Ferrer clash for the 10th time in their careers. Ferrer is dominating the head-to-head series 7-2, having won four in a row and seven of their last eight meetings. He has taken 11 of his last 12 total sets against Robredo. The two veterans most recently squared off last spring in the French Open quarterfinals, with Ferrer pouncing on a worn-out opponent to the tune of a 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 blowout.
Robredo is coming off a huge win over a suddenly-slumping world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, whom he upset 7-6(6), 7-5 on Thursday. The resurgent 32-year-old continues to play well after a bounce-back 2013 campaign and he registers at 20th in the world. Ferrer has shown some signs of decline in 2014, but the 32-year-old is still 41-15 following wins this week over Philipp Kohlschreiber and Mikhail Youzhny. He saved two match points in a 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 7-6(4) thriller against Kohlschreiber and won 11 straight games to end the match in a 7-5, 6-0 defeat of Youzhny. In what is likely to be a close contest despite their past history, Ferrer may have a slight edge in the pressure-packed moments.
Pick: Ferrer in 2
[polldaddy poll=8246993]
Cmon Murray beat Fed and win it overall. You need a good title win..its been a year plus now
Muzza for the W.
(fed was a big whiner last night, yelling at the chair umpire ala Roddick and throwing his racquet ala Gulbis). He was lucky to beat LaMonf the BrainDead.
Fed can’t take the racquet out of Andy’s hands the was Izzy did for much of the match.
C’mon And-eh!!!
(Go Milos)
^^Also, at 3 all in the 3rd set, 15/15, Roger missed a shot, then angrily hit a ball into the air (don’t know if it made it into the crowd..I watched the replay and they never showed where the ball ended up at). PMac and Gilbert joked about it. Gilbert said, “Would he (Carlos Bernardes, the ump) dare give Roger a warning?” PMac, ever the Fed fan, of course replied “no.” They just assumed that Roger would be given a pass on the incident because he’s…..Roger.
So classy and humble.
Wawrinka has checked out of Cincinnati!
What. Benny wasn’t injured?
In Muzza’s first two matches, he has shown the consistency expected of him for the first time in a long while. I believe he is back. He played brilliant tennis yesterday whereas Federer was very inconsistent dropping serve twice in the first set, five double faults, and 33 unforced errors.
Murray’s numbers were much better against a much worthier opponent who played at the top of his game whereas Fed was lucky to get through.
Muzz will beat Fed without a shadow of a doubt.
The title is Andy’s to lose.
Exactly nadline.
Who did Ricky pick again?
This break point by Benny is insane!
https://twitter.com/TennisTV/status/500311366952312832
#YouCannotBeSerious!!!
Fabulous Raonic feeds Fabio Fognini a breadstick for lunch.
https://twitter.com/TennisTV/status/500334820258766848
#PullingAStandin
Another win for Pospisock!!! Taking down the No. 2 team.
#Undefeated
Milos was down 15-40 in the first game of the second set saving three break points and is now up 3-0!
https://twitter.com/TennisTV/status/500338906131607553
VA-mos MIL-osh!!!
#DontYou????
Milos just came back from 0-40 down saving another four break points to go up 5-0!!!
Hilarious!!!
VA-mos MIL-osh!!!
#Carbs
#DoYou????
Another win for Milos!!!
#ExtraGluten
Interesting battle going on between the two Spanish players. I was starting to think Robredo was going to win this but his first serve has dropped away badly and he’s now struggling against Daveed the Terrier.
Mo in the chair for Roger vs Andy.
legend
Mo in the chair for Roger vs Andy.
It is frustrating to watch Murray..I mean I doubt he will ever return back to being what he was
I mean 4 1 up in 2nd set and losing 2 serves
@Sanju:
On the contrary. I’d say he has reverted to his bad old habits 🙁 brilliant in patches but squandering his chances when they mattered the most. On top of which his serving percentages were pathetic and his ROS wasn’t up to scratch. To be honest neither of them were playing their best tennis but Federer kept his head and played the big points better.
Fed is winning Cincy..I really don’t see Raonic or Ferrer beating Fed
this
By rights he should but it’s not a foregone conclusion.
Return of the Weak Era
Gotta hand it to Fed though. Played well when he had to.
#WhenTheCatsAway
So Fed’s leveled the H2H against Muzza. He only has a losing record against Rafa. And not too long ago we were told we were officially in the Novak/Andy era, two men who can’t beat an old man. Without Rafa, this is truly a weak era……
who else is winning vs. Fed?
I thought that Murray was dreadful in his match with Fed. It looked like he finally got it going in that second set when he was up two breaks. But then he just seemed to lose it. I didn’t think Fed played that well, but Andy was up and down and all over place. I thought he had a good shot to get to the final here.
Another wacky result. Benneteau and Ferrer in the semis? Raonic isn’t a totally shock. This time I think Fed should be able to get the title.
Hard to see anyone but Roger winning this tournament now. Coincidentally, 2012 Cincy was the last Masters 1000 that Roger won. His play is inconsistent, but it’s better than everyone he’s faced thus far, which is the only thing that matters. He’s moving really well around the court, better than I’ve seen him move in quite awhile. It’s amazing how effective those chipped/sliced/blocked returns are against so many of his opponents. Rafa eats those up like Quely biscuits slathered with Nutella.
Mostly because of that heavy and bouncy serve to the BH of Roger where he is almost always able to draw a short ball.
Same could be said about Nole eating up those same Rafa’s serves.
That’s a match-up thing, no.
I happened to briefly watch the Benneteau/Wawa match. I thought that Stan was in control after winning the first set 6-1. I guess Benny got it going. Good for him.
Fed clearly goes very well at Cincinnati. He even took a set from Rafa last year :O. Kudos to the old man to keep playing at such a high level at 33. But I still have an inkling that he will lose his way in the semi or in the final.
It was good to see Fed score a win in a match where many expected him to lose it.
And even though Andy had that 4-1 lead in that 2nd set, it was hardly due to the fact that Andy had suddenly raised his level or something. He was playing much the same way as he was in the 1st set. Roger’s service games dipped very low in the early games of the 2nd set marred by DF’s and ridiculous errors. I agree that a player of Muzz’s stature should be able to utilise that to his advantage but frankly speaking, the calm with which Fed was making inroads into almost each of Andy’s service games, I don’t think he would have been safe even if he was leading 5-0 in a set. Andy tried to attack Fed’s BH in the early part of the match, but Fed was much better on that wing today than his recent matches. He used his array of shots (I was really pleased to see those slices back in action which have been missing for a while) brilliantly and attacked and defended well to always put Muzz under pressure even when Muzz was returning. Fed was the much better player of the 2 both from the back of the court as well as the forecourt and looked more determined to win.
Both the players made pretty bad errors, but Fed made the best plays (at the nets and the baseline) at crucial junctures hence he won!
Onto Milos now!
I don’t think Fed played all that well. Unfortunately, Murray was simply awful. That was not Murray even close to his best. He absolutely has the game to beat Fed. He just hasn’t been playing well lately. Something seems amiss with him. It’s like he’s taken a giant step backwards. I don’t see the mental strength and confidence.
I do think that Fed is playing much better than he was last year. But he can still be taken out by the likes of Tsonga. He is doing better at tournaments and going deeper, but has not been able to get a win. It’s looking good for him but as vmk1 said, he could still lose. You just never know. I certainly don’t see Ferrer being able to beat him. The only reason he got through was because Novak crashed out early again.
I am hoping that Raonic can make a match out of it in the semis.