Novak Djokovic will continue his bid for the Beijing title as he goes up against Sam Querrey during Friday’s quarterfinals. A big-hitting affair is also on the docket as Tomas Berdych and John Isner are set to do battle.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. Sam Querrey
Djokovic and Querrey will be facing each other for the eighth time in their careers and for the third time this season when they clash in the quarterfinals of the China Open on Friday. The head-to-head series stands at 6-1 in Djokovic’s favor following a pair of victories in 2013; 6-0, 7-6(6) in the Indian Wells fourth round and 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-0 during a Davis Cup rubber in the United States.
The top-ranked Serb booked his spot in the Beijing last eight with defeats of Lukas Rosol (6-0, 6-3) and Fernando Verdasco (7-5, 2-6, 6-2). He is 54-9 for the season and coming off a pair of Davis Cup singles wins against Canada–which were preceded by a runner-up finish at the U.S. Open. Querrey has advanced impressively by taking out both Mikhail Youzhny and Stanislas Wawrinka in straight sets. This has come mostly out of nowhere from the 30th-ranked American, who is a modest 27-20 for his 2013 campaign. Querrey can make this competitive if he serves at a high percentage, but Djokovic will likely treat the Verdasco match as a wake-up call.
Pick: Djokovic in 2 losing more than 8 games
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(8) John Isner vs. (4) Tomas Berdych
Isner and Berdych will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers on Friday. The head-to-head series is tied up at two wins apiece, but Isner has won both of their previous hard-court encounters. He prevailed 6-3, 6-7(10), 6-2 at the 2009 Washington, D.C. event and 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(9) in a thrilling title match at the 2012 Winston-Salem Open. Berdych’s two victories came on clay in 2010–one in a third-set tiebreaker.
Their paths to the last eight in Beijing could not have been more different. Isner scraped past wild card Di Wu 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-3 and qualifier Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-4. The 6’10” American is now 36-20 for the season, mainly thanks to another awesome summer on American hard courts. Berdych rolled over Pablo Andujar 6-4, 6-1 then got a walkover from Nikolay Davydenko. The sixth-ranked Czech is 48-18 for the year and he is coming off a runner-up performance in Bangkok. Isner may serve his way to a set, but he has not been at his best this week and he rarely is away from the United States.
Pick: Berdych in 3
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As much as I’d love to see Big John get a set over Berdych, I just don’t think it’s going to happen. Berdych just too strong and steady. …and Joker probably wins in straight.
Nole (8 gms or less) and Berdy in two.
The match with Verdasco definitely took a complacent Nole by surprise. He wont make the same mistake twice – particularly after what happened to WaWa.
I hope Berdy goes through which ever way. Better him than Long John Silver to face Rafa in the semis…………
agree with RITB, Isner is more dangerous for rafa. Given rafa’s current form, berdych won’t be much of a problem.
you never know with the Asian swing.
but yes, Rafa should beat both–and Berdych more comfortably than Isner.
According to what was posted on vb, this match should start at 9:30 pm my time. Of course the stupid tennis channel is showing Japan matches. They won’t broadcast it until tomorrow.
Now I am debating whether I should try a livestream to watch this match. I have had problems in the past with these sites. I don’t need another virus in my computer.
I will have to check and see if espn3 is showing it.
NNY7. ESPN3 will be streaming the mens’ quarterfinal matches. Last nite I watched the Novak/Fer match on ESPN3. The quality of the stream is excellent. I stream it onto my TV and even on a very large screen, the detail is excellent although still not as good as a normal broadcast. I’m thankful that Rafa’s match is the first one since for me on the west coast that means it’ll be 9:30 pm instead of some middle of the night time.
Jpacnw,
I didn’t see your post until just now. I was on the live thread for Rafa’s match. But I did remember to check espn3 and sure enough, they had the match. I didn’t start watching online until about 10:00 west coast time out there in L.A. Then I saw that Rafa was down 1-4 in the first set.
That was a rough ride but Rafa got the win. I think the quality of the stream on espn3 is very good. Sometimes it would get a bit blurry, but for the most part it was decent.
So I finally got to see Rafa play and it was a nerve wracking one.
I meant Rafa’s match with Fognini.
Sorry, I know this thread is for the other quarterfinal matches. I do think Djoker will have gotten a wakeup call from the Verdasco match. I see him beating Querrey in straight sets. I think that I voted for straight sets with Djoker losing eight games or more.
As for Berdy/Isner, I think it will be Berdy probably in three sets.
NNY: Have you thought about taking out a monthly subscription to the ATP TennisTV live streaming. It wont work for you for any matches in the US or for the Slams but It’s not expensive and you can watch two matches at once plus catch up. Good quality and no ads!
You’re right to be wary of the multi livestreaming sites. It cost my sister a fortune after receiving viruses from one or more of them. Plus they are saturated with vulgar ads – at least they are in France.
Berdy in this form is looking dangerous. I’m not sure I wouldn’t have preferred Isner for Rafa.
ed: can I recommend “spyhunter” to your sister and anyone else so virused? Yes, you pay but it wprks wonders.
And no, I don’t work for them…;)
“Lavasoft” is good too, for removing iffy ads.
Poor Sam was made to look quite ordinary, expect the same treatment for poor Gasquet tomorrow.
That’s putting it kindly. Inept was the word that came to my mind.
Congratulations to me!!!!
Are you keeping a tally of your successes?
Only when I’m right!
#RickysMO