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
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(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
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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.