Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray will renew their extensive rivalry in the Beijing semifinals on Saturday. Tomas Berdych and Martin Klizan are also seeking a place in the title match.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (6) Andy Murray
Djokovic and Murray will be facing each other for the 22nd time in their careers and for the third time this season when they collide in the semifinals of the China Open on Saturday. The head-to-head series stands at 13-8 in favor of Djokovic, who has taken both of their 2014 encounters. He prevailed 7-5, 6-3 at the Miami Masters and 7-6(1), 6-7(1), 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open to improve to 11-6 lifetime against Murray on hard courts.
Bouncing back from a slow hard-court summer in the kind of fashion that anyone could have expected, Djokovic has improved to 22-0 for his Beijing career following straight-set victories this week over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Vasek Pospisil, and Grigor Dimitrov. The top-ranked Serb is two wins away from a fifth title at this event. Murray reached the last four by taking out Jerzy Janowicz, Pablo Cuevas, and U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic. The 11th-ranked Scot has been getting better and better since a three-set struggle against Janowicz in round one. Murray’s quick work of Cilic was just what he needed on Friday, but he has still played a ton of tennis over the past two weeks and that is not likely help his effort to stop what has been an unstoppable force in Beijing.
Pick: Djokovic in 2
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(3) Tomas Berdych vs. (Q) Martin Klizan
Berdych and Klizan will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers and for the third time at the ATP level. All three of their previous meetings have gone Berdych’s way; 6-3, 7-6(3) at the 2009 Prostejov Challenger, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 last year at Wimbledon, and 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 at this summer’s U.S. Open. The sixth-ranked Czech has not been outstanding of late, but he has been dominant in Beijing. Berdych booked his spot in the semis by rolling over Feliciano Lopez, Viktor Troicki, and John Isner in routine straight sets.
Klizan, meanwhile, is in the midst of a borderline miracle week. He trailed Xin Gao 6-4, 5-1 in the first round of qualifying and had to save three match points to stay alive. The 56th-ranked Slovak eventually qualified for the main draw, got past Leonardo Mayer and Ernests Gulbis, then stunned world No. 2 Rafael Nadal 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-3 on Friday. It has been a great run for Klizan, but it is always hard to follow up a monumental win especially with no day of rest in between matches.
Pick: Berdych in 2
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http://twitter.com/SteveTignor/status/518759126336552960
I think Andy still hasn’t got over the split from Lendl whatever the reason was for the split.
I think 61 63 60 at the 2008 RG final is even more impressive especially against a world #1.
but that was entirely expected
And Berdy was referring to matches he’s played in.
No, that particular Godmode beat down wasn’t expected, just the win.
no ,it was not expected at all ! even borg predicted a tough battle and gave federer a decent chance of winning the final ! he had rafa as the favourite but said it would be a battle… and nadal-federer hamburg 2008 final was a very close encounter as well so this complete blowout was not at all expected esp given that fed had played thee tough four-setters against rafa at RG in the past.
that performance was one of the best performances in a grand slam final …it sure was in our generation.
This performance by novak was one of the best performances in a best-of-three set matches in our generation because you just cant manhandle a player like berdych on a fast court this this. too good
this is mindblowing stuff from djokovic…did not watch the match so I thought may be berdych was injured? he was not ! so this performance is out of this world. djokovic is an all-time great and who knows how much he’l achieve on hard courts.
this is the strongest performance in a best of 3 since rafas 6-0 6-2 demolition of ferrer in the acapulco final 2013. but berdych has a big service game and reaching 6-0 5-0 on a very quick court is just ….wow…
federer will be back in shanghai and he will be strong…djokovic is the man to beat of course…. murray is nowhere near the level he is capable of…del potro is not on the tour….rafa has just come back on the tour and this is a weak part of the season for him..he will be low on confidence but will be playing without pressure so come on rafa do your best !
@vamosrafa,
I agree with your thoughts. It was surprising to see Berdy go down so easily on this kind of court. But Novak has always seemed at home on these fast hard courts.
I hope that Rafa can get some matches under his belt at Shanghai. But I am not going to have any expectations at this point. It’s just about Rafa getting back his fitness and form.
Rafa accepts that this is his weakest part of the year and says he just want to build up ready for the start of 2015. I hope he stays healthy and plays a full season. It must be very frustrating for him to keep having to start to get into his rhythm again and again.
Vamos Rafa
if he can get some good wins and make good runs in a couple of tournaments, he will have good preparation for 2015…
and oh i forgot nishikori…he is the real threat to the top guys right now ! would love to see a djokovic vs nishikori match again….
Nishikori sustained an injury during the final yesterday.
Nishikori played injured throughout the whole tournament actually:
http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2014/10/nishikori-ignoring-injury-hopes-qualifying-world-tour-finals/52928/#.VDF9DU1xnIU
Sanju says:
October 5, 2014 at 3:27 pm
If Rafa gets injured that often..it is his fault..it is not Novaks who manages to stay healthy
http://i720.photobucket.com/albums/ww203/slightlytwisted/Nonsense.gif
oh come on now stop these cheap attacks …you don’t have anything substantial to say and all you do is post this crap again and again . there are far better ways to defend rafa and highlight the areas where he is the best. i guess it is too much to expect maturity !
realize that rafa cannot be superior to his rivals in every aspect. he has his own strengths and his opponents have their own and we cannot deny that. it is about weighing comparing those strengths and trying to gauge where the balance tilts. djokovic’s career’s legacy cannot match rafa’s, rafa is far ahead. but there was certain areas where djokovic is clearly stronger.
djokovic’s ROS is so damn strong that rafa will never be able to match him in that regards.so , he is able to put together these ruthless performances and is able to destroy opponents. rafa is more vulnerable to early rnd exits but he is the daddy when it comes to playing on the biggest of stages.
ACCEPT THAT. rafa cannot be superior in every damn way !
Exactly vamosrafa..it does not take much to figure that Rafa is a big match player and maybe the most bankable in big stage matches..but compared to Fed and Novak..is more vulnerable to lose to random players out of the blue too. He is clearly far less consistent than Djokovic, no doubt about that.
And if Rafa was so superior to Djokovic..their H2H would not be 22-19 ..it is too close for comfort..
@vamosrafa,
I agree with you. Rafa isn’t superhuman. Even he realizes that his rivals have some advantages over him. He’s the first to give Novak all due credit for being such a tough opponent. Novak’s ROS is brilliant. Rafa has acknowledged it. Also, Rafa has said in the past that he has to be at his best physically and mentally to beat Novak.
I don’t see anything wrong with giving Novak credit. Rafa is confident in himself to be able to praise Novak. He knows just how tough Novak is and the kind of tennis he is capable of producing. One more reason to love Rafa – he is able to give respect to his opponents. He’s a class act.
Which attacks are you referring to?
nadline..the one who points out others opinions as nonsense maybe the biggest nonsense so full of herself..maybe u should consider that?
If u don’t agree, does not mean others will stop saying what they feel,u better get used to it..coz I aint going anywhere..If u think u pasting all these images will stop me from voicing my opinion..that ain’t gonna happen..
if I feel like being critical of Rafa,I will and if I wanna praise Rafa,I will. If I wanna praise his fiercest rivals..I will..I will say exactly what I feel like as long as I don’t denigrate any player personally or any poster personally here.
It is my opinion and I will voice it.
I am also free to disagree with you.
Sanju,
I hope you continue to speak your mind. I am glad to hear that you won’t be going anywhere! Neither will I!
sanju was merely voicing out his opinions and he was discussing tennis ! he gave some informative stats and pointed out good things.
Is anyone really surprised at the beatdown Novak meted out to Berdy………….really?
I am RITB..I don’t think anyone expected this scoreline..I am sure Novak himself did not expect.
If Nishi is injured, Fed gets lucky again in QF unless Dimitrov reaches there and manages to say something(:-
Berdych has never given Novak, or Rafa, any problems except for that weird Rome match where Berdy beat Novak. Berdy’s problem is movement, or lack thereof. He’s too easy for Novak and Rafa, all they do is pull him from side to side………….
That kind of scoreline is a total beatdown. Berdy has shown that he is capable of making it competitive against Novak in the past. This was a demolition.
0-2? (Could easily have been 0-0).
Can’t recall when Berdy lost so bad.
#YouSerious?
#ColourMeSurprised
Not just the score but the depth and accuracy of many shots along with incredible defence.
and come on people ! this scoreline was not surprising? this is hugely surprising !!
Someone with as big a game as berdy cannot be manhandled for 2 sets nonstop. He is able to produce a stint in which he dominates. I will watch the match and then post some thoughts. For now , looking at the scoreline only , this is a very surprising scoreline.
I never expected Tomas to win, but I didn’t except the match to be as one-sided as it was (I actually watched it live, 4:30 am my time). Before the match, I checked their previous H2H. They had played 17 times, Tomas only winning 2 of those, one on grass and one on clay. But, he’d never been bageled by Novak. Novak was at his efficient best, playing against an opponent who doesn’t have the skill-set to handle that kind of game. All kudos to Novak. I always enjoy watching him play (except when he’s beating Rafa, of course, but even then I have the utmost respect), but I think this is another one of those matches where I chalk it up to the opponent being a bad match-up against someone who was really on their game. Novak’s got a real test coming in Shanghai…he’s got a tough draw. He loves this time of year and the Asian swing, so I expect that he will do very well, but it won’t be easy.
^^^ooops, “expect,”, not “except”
thanks for your thoughts JPACNW…so novak really was devastating and berdy, who obviously lacks the game to consistently trouble novak, was not able to pose any kind of threat …
I agree that even though he is the best, he won’t have it easy in shanghai and the following events.
and novak’s been having an up-and-down year. I also read that someone from his camp said that novak’s motivation level has not been at the highest this year. I won’t really be surprised if novak is beaten in shanghai by someone
he won’t be
yeah very likely he won’t be…but I am not ruling out the possibility
jpacnw,
I really enjoy reading your thoughts. Thanks for the info on the lopsided H2H with these two guys. I want to see the replay on the tennis channel, but I did get a look at Novak’s previous match and he seemed to be feeling it. It’s good to be able to appreciate the skills of another player. As you said, one can enjoy his game when it’s not against Rafa! LOL!
This does seem to be his time of year.
I checked Tomas’ record against Andy, Rafa, and Roger, to see how often he’s been bageled. Rafa’s done it twice on clay, Roger once on grass, and none for Andy. And as I wrote previously, Novak had never done it despite them having played 17 times. So, I still think this is an instance where Novak was just playing very well, as he does in this tournament, and Tomas playing not just less than his best, but just not having the skills necessary to have a plan B against Novak when things are going so horribly wrong. Novak is still the man to beat in Shanghai.
we’re actually talking about tennis here?
AMAZING!
LOL..finally ! pheww
YES!!
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thanks for putting things into perspective JPACNW… This performance by Novak was mind-blowing but may be not too much should be read into read…TOO MUCH I mean…Let’s see how he handles things in shanghai
I think Shanghai is going to be very competitive with everyone in the mix. We should be treated to some great tennis. I am not sure that Novak won’t make it to the final again. He just seems to be so much in his element in the fall hard court season. These fast hard courts are ideal for his game.
he will make it…and win
rafaisthebest says:
October 5, 2014 at 5:02 pm
Lordy da, just had a vision of @Sanju turning up at a recent Rafa training session (with Rafa’s right wrist in a splint btw) in Majorca wearing a Vamos Rafa t-shirt, holding a placard reading, “If you get injured often, it’s your damn fault. You need to find a way to stay healthy, signed: your truth-telling fan”.
*shivers*
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
Exactly!
http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m155/StudioBueno/CrocTears01.jpg
I only got to see the 2nd set so was spared the sight of Berdy being humiliated in the first set. Djokovic had really got the bit between his teeth and apart from a couple of wobbles he was unstoppable: everything was firing – particularly his serve which has come on by leaps and bounds and also his net play* which used to be a weakness in his game.
*Should BB take some of the credit for that?
I had no doubts that Nole would destroy Berdy today…I did not see this score coming but TBH Berdy was losing to Feliciano Lopez quite often this year and even lost to Yen-Hsun in Cincy and would not even have made it to meet Cilic in the USO if he had tougher draw…so clearly Birdy is not at the top of his game right now…and when we add to it the nick we have for Birdy-so called “king of chokes” we should be able to see why this beatdown was not that much of a surprise…I don’t want to take anything from Nole though so I trust he was amazing…I admit did not see the match because I preferred watching Manchester United and skipped the torture poor Berdy went through…
Nole will most likely win Shanghai…high on confidence with no real opponent except for Fed who may still surprise him…it’s a bad matchup 🙂 Fed just may does not mean he will…
^^^Ooohh, Aaahhhh! I knew there was a reason I relate to you @nats (apart from being a fellow fan of a certain good looking fellow from Majorca), YOU IS A ManU FAN!!!
I applaud your good and high taste in football team…….
#VanGaalicious
#ManchesterIsRed
🙂 🙂
and let’s not over emphasize the significance of this win…after all, it is only a 500 tourney that Nole already owns…so we should be patient and wait until the end of the season…it all may end up quite differently than expected….
What matters is that Rafa is still the best looking fellow on tour. He should draw some confidence from it … 🙂
Vamos Rafa!
well said on all counts
Great post, nats.
“What matters is that Rafa is still the best looking fellow on tour”
Your opinion is fact, @nats
rafaisthebest (at 6:09 am)
Yes, he is!
@Sanju, if you call Rafa a whiner (like you did on a separate thread), and are dismissive of his injuries, like you did on this thread, which are your opinions, to which you are entitled then:
(a) remember other people are just as entitled to air their opinions, rebut yours and defend Rafa;
(b) don’t cry, “I’m being attacked” when you have just attacked Rafa yourself. If you are free to “attack” Rafa, as you say you are, then know that other people are also free to “attack” you.
You probably do not visit tennis-x blog (and other Federrazzi blogs out there) enough to know that the standard lines the Federazzi over there throw at Rafa are: he is a whiner and his playing style causes his injuries……..same lines as yours.
Just saying.
A lot of posters here always support anyone who attacks Rafa but disapprove of anyone who defends him. I don’t know of any forum where fans of Rafa’s rivals openly attack and put them down whilst singing Rafa’s praises.
It’s a crime to defend Rafa on the Grandstand. The usual suspects always gang up to support any Rafa bad mouthing and firmly believe they are the good guys.
Keep fighting the good fight, @nadline10!
Excuse me if I jump in on this spat. Sanju has used this technique of ‘attacking’ Rafa to ward off disappointment for years. It used to drive me nuts when she did it during tense matches until I realised it was her coping mechanism.
@ed251137, I do “get” @Sanju and now just laugh off his “coping mechanisms”. My post is simply to point out that once he puts out his thoughts out there, other people will respond, and he should not be surprised when they do, could be their coping mechanism too!
Sorry ed, I really don’t think that’s the case. 90% of Sanju’s posts are putting Rafa down buoyed up by those who disapprove of anyone disagreeing with her, pointing out that it’s disloyal to talk about Rafa like that all the time and call yourself his fan.
But he’s got support from a few posters who want to gag anyone coming to Rafa’s defence.
ed, if you go back and read the posts the more people said things like good on you sanju, you say what you like it’s the people who defend Rafa that are wrong; slag Rafa all you want we agree with you, the more she laid into Rafa.
Djoko has patches where he doesn’t do well, he didn’t win anything in the Nth American swing, but I’ve only seen support from his fans all over the net and he hasn’t even been out with injury. For Rafa fans to go along with someone who says Rafa’s injuries are his fault and she is not going to make any allowances for that is astonishing. Even more astonishing are that people who agree with him.