Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are one round away from a semifinal showdown in New York. They are first set for respective Thursday meetings with Mikhail Youzhny and Stanislas Wawrinka.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (21) Mikhail Youzhny
Djokovic and Youzhny will be facing each other for the ninth time in their careers when they collide in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open on Thursday night. The head-to-head series stands at just 5-3 in Djokovic’s favor, but he has won three of their last four hard-court meetings and Youzhny has never gotten the best of his favored opponent outdoors. They most recently clashed this spring on the clay courts of Monte-Carlo, where Djokovic survived 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. Youzhny’s last victory came at the Rotterdam event in 2010.
Not surprisingly, it has been a different kind of fortnight so far for these two competitors. Djokovic has cruised past Ricardas Berankis, Benjamin Becker, Joao Sousa, and Marcel Granollers while playing just one tiebreaker against Becker. The top-ranked Serb had not been at the top of his game this summer, but he is in ruthless form at the moment. Youzhny needed three hours and 58 minutes to overcome Hewitt in a five-set battle on Tuesday afternoon. The 24th-ranked Russian preceded that win with defeats of Nicolas Mahut, Alexandr Dolgpolov, and Tommy Haas–losing only one set to Haas during that stretch. Youzhny is playing well, but this should be straightforward unless Djokovic delivers a suddenly mediocre performance.
Pick: Djokovic in 3 losing 8-10 games
[polldaddy poll=7372513]
(3) Andy Murray vs. (9) Stanislas Wawrinka
Wawrinka and Murray will be squaring off for the 14th time in their careers and for the second time this season. Murray leads the head-to-head series by a modest 8-5 score, but he boasts a more daunting 6-2 mark on hard courts. They have split a pair of U.S. Open showdowns–Murray in straight sets in 2008 and Wawrinka 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-3 in 2010. Their most recent encounter came this spring on the clay courts of Monte-Carlo, where Wawrinka rolled 6-1, 6-2.
Murray, of course, is a far more formidable force on the hard stuff. He is the defending champion in New York and so far this fortnight he has dismissed Michael Llodra, Leonardo Mayer, Florian Mayer, and Denis Istomin–losing sets to the first Mayer and Istomin in the process. The third-ranked Scot is 41-7 for the year, which includes a triumph at Wimbledon and also a title in Miami. This is the second Grand Slam quarterfinal of 2013 for Wawrinka, who suffered a heartbreaking fourth-round Australian Open loss to Djokovic but outlasted Richard Gasquet 8-6 in the fifth to reach the last eight at Roland Garros. The 10th-ranked Swiss has advanced in New York by taking out Radek Stepanek, Ivo Karlovic, Marcos Baghdatis, and Tomas Berdych. All signs point to a thriller, with a slight edge going to Murray based mostly on his confidence and experience from playing as a two-time major champion.
Pick: Murray in 5
[polldaddy poll=7372523]
You should hear my sister in Spain on the subject. She bombards Eurosport with emails complaining about their commentators both for tennis and her other passion ice-skating.
Now that’s a sport that leaves me ice cold! What with her being a skating addict AND a Fedfan it’s surprising we are still on speaking terms.
Deucy: Just been talking with sis in Spain and she says she is pretty sure it was Simon Reed and Frew McMillan doing the commentary on Andy’s match.
This is what Murray had to say:
‘When you work hard for something for a lot of years it’s going to take a bit of time to really fire yourself up and get yourself training again,’ he said.
‘That’s something that is natural after what happened at Wimbledon. But then I gave myself a chance to do well here because I prepared properly. Defending was a new experience for me and something that was good to go through and I will learn from that.
‘I don’t know if I’m meant to win every Grand Slam I play or get to the final every time. It’s very difficult just now with the guys around us.
‘I can’t complain. If someone told me last year I would have been here as defending champion and won Wimbledon and Olympic gold I would have taken that.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/ten…#ixzz2e8YUmRk3
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
It would help if the media just eased off a bit. They’ve just gone on and on and on about him being the defending champion and are still going on about his quest for YE #1 when it’s clear that it’s not on the cards. Murray has never been one to crave the limelight and I think it just got to him.