Two Swiss stars and two surprises make up the Indian Wells semifinal lineup on Saturday. Roger Federer is going up against Jack Sock, while Stan Wawrinka is facing first-time Masters 1000 semifinalist Pablo Carreno Busta.
(17) Jack Sock vs. (9) Roger Federer
Federer and Sock will be squaring off for the third time in their careers and for the second time at the BNP Paribas Open when they battle for a spot in the title match on Saturday afternoon. Both of their previous encounters have gone Federer’s way; 6-3, 6-2 in the fourth round of this tournament in 2015 and 6-3, 6-4 later that season on the indoor hard courts of Basel. Sock’s 2015 Indian Wells run saw him win three straight matches from a set down, including one in a final-set tiebreaker. The 18th-ranked American has been up to similar tricks this time around: four consecutive three-set wins–including two after losing the first set–and one over Grigor Dimitrov in a third-set ‘breaker (he also beat Henri Laaksonen, Malek Jaziri, and Kei Nishikori).
If Sock is fatigued heading into this one, Federer is nothing of the sort. The 10th-ranked Swiss did not drop a set in defeats of Stephane Robert, Steve Johnson, and Rafael Nadal before getting a walkover from Nick Kyrgios on Friday. Federer is 11-1 this season and, of course, captured his 18th career major title at the Australian Open. A red-hot former world No. 1 combined with a weary opponent should result in something similar to what transpired between Federer and Sock two seasons ago in the desert.
Pick: Federer in 2
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(21) Pablo Carreno Busta vs. (3) Stan Wawrinka
They say it’s better to be lucky than good. Carreno Busta has been both in Indian Wells. No. 1 seed Andy Murray vacated the top quarter of the draw in the second round and that semifinal spot was wide open thereafter. Vasek Pospisil, who upset Murray, promptly fell to Dusan Lajovic in the last 32 before Carreno Busta took care of Lajovic to reach the quarterfinals. The 23rd-ranked Spaniard preceded that victory with a win over Peter Gojowyczk, got a walkover from Robert Bautista Agut, and eventually saved two match points in a 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(4) quarterfinal triumph over Pablo Cuevas on Thursday. Carreno Busta is now 15-6 this season with a runner-up finish on the clay courts of Rio de Janeiro.
Up next for the No. 21 seed on Saturday is a third career meeting with Wawrinka, who leads the head-to-head series 2-0. The third-seeded Swiss prevailed 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 at the 2013 Oeiras event and again on clay via a 6-3, 6-1 decision last year in Geneva. Wawrinka survived two consecutive third-set tiebreakers to earn his place in this matchup; he outlasted Yoshihito Nishioka 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) after the lucky loser twice failed to serve out the match, and he edged Dominic Thiem 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(2) on Thursday night. The world No. 3, who ousted Palo Lorenzi and Philipp Kohlschreiber in more routine fashion, is 11-3 this season with semifinal showings in Brisbane and Melbourne. Carreno Busta recently talked about his commitment to playing more aggressive tennis in 2017, but that is not something he will be able to do against an opponent who has an especially big advantage in the serve and backhand departments.
Pick: Wawrinka in 2
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Sock playing better and Fed leaking some errors. All depends on Fed’s serve now. Sock is competing well from the baseline
Solid return from Sock. Mini break .
2-1. Would be interesting if he can hold on to his serve here.
World-class from Sock. Showing why he has made it this far in the tournament! 3-1
Pity. Poor forehand miss!
Damn that was one aggressive second serve from Roger. 3-3
See this guys, Fed wins two free points on SECOND SERVES.
Sock using loads of body serves.
I have not seen Stan play this week but looks like he has improved?
Stan can definitely give Fed a tough fight but beating Fed is a different thing.
At least Stan’s both wings are capable of doing damage and he has a good serve. Sock’s backhand was a safe haven for Fed throughout.
Darned Sock.
Random side note for you, Hawks-
I was just looking back at the Fed’s “player page” on here, to just before the AO. People were saying that Fed was “fat” (absurd considering the guy is a twig) and laughing saying he would never have a chance at Holman Cup, let alone the AO! Then you sort of defended him, saying you thought he would play into form. Then the part that made me laugh- “ratcliff10” said to you (paraphrased a bit), “I will laugh at you if you pick Fed to win the Australian Open! I can’t wait!” Even though Ratcliff10 was certainly justified in thinking Fed was a long shot to win it, it still made me smile to see how cocky they were about even the possibility of you picking Fed to win it. 🙂
I certainly wouldn’t have bet a lot of $ on Fed winning the AO before it started, although I knew it was always a possibility. Anyone who has made the Semis or better in 7 of last 10 slams they played in, including 3 runner-ups, is going to have a shot at winning. On top of that, fed has shown before that when he has some time off he can come back and kick ass (i.e. Cincinnati 2015, where he hasn’t played since Wimbledon and then won the tournament without dropping serve or a set and beating Djoko and Murray).
So, Ratcliff10, this is not at all meant to be a diss toward you, as most people didn’t think Fed would win the AO. It just made me laugh to see that comment you made given that Hawks did choose Fed to win. 🙂
Yup, I knew what he was capable especially with Rafa, Nole and Muzz having their own unknowns heading into 2017.
So with that in mind, I should get more cred for saying Rafa’s not as far off as everyone makes him out to be and I don’t think he needs to drastically alter his game.
Just came up against a red hot #GOAT.
He’s No. 2 in the Race having made two HC finals, going into Miami (possibly as the only one of the Big Four) and clay just around the corner.
Not so bad for a guy whose coming back from multiple injuries and severe anxiety over the last few years.
I picked Fed lol
Stan’s ROS is also a big issue against Fed. Against Nole you can get away with floater returns (stan often bunts his returns back even with his forehand) but Fed is far more aggressive. This is one big reason Stan is able to have more success against Nole and not so much against Fed. Stan must drive more returns. If he stays too back , Fed is ready for serve and volley.
If stan can manage this , serve well and unleash the Stanimal he can do it. Fed must not be on fire though lol.
Fed is the CLEAR favorite though.
#peRFectlyCLEAR
#ReturnOfTheGOAT2.0
Hawks, are you a non-Fed-hating Rafa fan? I can never tell if your giving of props to Fed is sarcastic of legit haha…
*sarcastic OR legit I mean
I’m a non-Rafa-hating Fed fan lol
I can tell you are, Benny. 🙂 Most people on here who are pro-Fed or pro-Rafa seem to be generally good about at least respecting the other guy’s game/achievements… There’s really only one person on here who very openly and unashamedly goes out of their way to troll one of them at every single opportunity, like they have some sort of personal vendetta against him or something… Nothing wrong with being competitive, but personally dissing and attacks generally just make people look jealous. Especially when Rafa and Roger have both set the standard for good sportsmanship, charity, hard work, and just generally being nice guys all around. They may not be 100% perfect, 100% of the time, but they’re not robots haha! Roger, Rafa, and Novak have always had, and will always have fans who, for whatever reason, seem to feel threatened by the success/achievements of one or two of the other guys, and trolling is their way of dealing with that. I’m glad to say that this site is largely kept civil from what I’ve seen.
When all is said in done, those three guys will each have achieved incredible feats that are unique to each of them individually. They have different styles, different background stories, different strengths and weaknesses, etc. That’s what makes them so interesting to me. These three guys will likely go down as the three greatest players of modern tennis, and although their different peaks may or may not have coincided, we’ve had the privilege to have them play largely at the same time! And if you throw Murray, Stan, even Del Po in there…. we’ve been pretty damn lucky I’d say…
Well said Kevin.
I thought Sampras was the GOAT and his records would stand a long time. Never did I think that there would be three guys a decade later that I would consider better than Pete. And that says a lot.
Kevin (AT 10:00 PM),
He is a bandwagon fan.
Don’t mind Augusta008 Kevin. She likes to tease Me. We really do love each other but we like to have some friendly banter. She’ll deny this but I know how she really feels.
As far as legit or sarcastic goes, sometimes I can’t even tell LOL!
Yeah, I’m a huge Rafan. Doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate #GOAT’s tennis. What true tennis fan wouldn’t. I mean I’m a serious fan of his game, accomplishments, longevity and consistency. I’m in awe how he can play what I believe is as good or better than in his prime (most productive) years. He has a serious shot at No. 1 this year if he stays healthy.
But he’s never been my favourite personally and I don’t know why. Maybe because he won almost everything before the Big Four and maybe because I didn’t want to see him break Sampras’ record (my previous favourite). I became a Rafan after I realized he was much more than a clay specialist and when he made tennis interesting again for me as I’ve loved tennis since the 70s.
I don’t know what it is but tennis fans choose their favourites not only because of their tennis but also because of their personality and style and Rafa is it for me. But I’ve learned to enjoy all of the Big Four.
I love Djokovic’s game at his best and appreciate that he’s not perfect but tries so hard to gain fans. I love it how he’s learned to channel the crowd being against him when he plays #GOAT. But I think it’s worn him down and he can’t sustain it anymore. He’s lost his love of the game and his drive. Jury’s out on whether he’ll get it back but I think he will.
I’ve really started to enjoy Kyrgios too. Again, incredible unique talent but flawed personally. I’m enjoying watching him find his way.
#GOAT’s comments after his win today on clay season and motivation:
“What I don’t want to do is overplay and just get tired (…) and just doing people a favor just to be there with no aspirations”
Read more…
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C7PBpc0VoAAZQRS.jpg
So I guess that answers our question as to whether or not Fed will play Miami if he wins IW!
It is just a sports game.
Every fan of tennis should enjoy watching and betting, not hating 😀