Andy Murray will continue his quest for a third Wimbledon title when he takes the court against Sam Querrey on Wednesday. Somewhat surprising quarterfinalist Gilles Muller is facing an in-form Marin Cilic.
(1) Andy Murray vs. (24) Sam Querrey
Murray and Querrey will be squaring off for the ninth time in their careers when they battle for a spot in the Wimbledon semifinals on Wednesday. The head-to-head series stands at 7-1 in favor of Murray, who is 2-0 against Querrey on grass. A 2006 Newport encounter went the Scot’s way via a 7-5, 6-2 decision and he also got the best of Querrey at Wimbledon–in the fourth round, as well–in easy straight sets seven years ago. The two veterans most recently faced each other at this year’s Australian Open, where Murray cruised 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.
Querrey has done extremely well to reach back-to-back Wimbledon quarterfinals. The 28th-ranked American upset Novak Djokovic during his run last summer and so far this fortnight he has picked up five-set wins over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Kevin Anderson. Those were the seventh and eighth five-setters in Querrey’s career at the All-England Club, and they were preceded by more routine defeats of Thomas Fabbiano and Nikoloz Basilashvili. Murray survived a competitive four-setter against Fabio Fognini last Saturday but has otherwise rolled over Alexander Bublik, Dustin Brown, and Benoit Paire. The world No. 1 has not been at his best in 2017, but his hip issue appears to be a minor concern at most and his Wimbledon title defense is off to a stellar start. Murray’s rock-solid service return has always befuddled big servers and an all too familiar fate will likely befall Querrey again on Wednesday.
Pick: Murray in 3
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(16) Gilles Muller vs. (7) Marin Cilic
Don’t count Cilic among those impressed with Querrey’s back-to-back Wimbledon quarterfinal performances. The sixth-ranked Croat has now accomplished that feat on back-to-back-to-back-to-back occasions. He has never reached the semis despite twice coming within one set of doing so, having lost to Djokovic from two sets to one up in 2014 and to Roger Federer from two sets to love up last summer. Djokovic also put an end to Cilic’s tournament in 2015.
Now, for the first time, an opponent outside of the Big 4 awaits Cilic on the second Wednesday. Instead of Rafael Nadal, it is Muller–who took down the Spaniard 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 15-13 in a fourth-round thriller that lasted four hours and 47 minutes. That contest almost never even happened, because the 26th-ranked Luxembourgian also survived a five-setter during second-round action while saving two match points in a 7-5, 6-7(7), 4-6, 6-3, 9-7 victory over Lukas Rosol. Cilic endured no such struggles on his way to the last eight, steamrolling past Philipp Kohlschreiber, Florian Mayer, Steve Johnson, and Roberto Bautista Agut all in straight sets. With the 2014 U.S. Open champion once again looking like a Grand Slam title contender and with Muller coming off a physically draining, emotionally charged battle, this one should be one-way traffic.
Pick: Cilic in 3
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Cilic in 3
Andy in 3
Cilic in 3
Murray in 4
Cilic and Murray in four
Agree. I think Muller will take at least a set.
Same here. Muller’s serve is too good right now not to get him at least one set.
Can Sam querry caused a major upset like when he beat Djokovic
yes, he can. however, i think andy is the best active player at nullifying big servers. so, a possible task, just harder.
Murray in 4
Cilic in 4
Querrey and Muller are competing like top 10 players right now and are on their fav surface. Querrey has had 2 5 setters but on grass shouldn’t be a problem.
However, both Murray and Cilic know they have a big match coming up and will most likely bring their best so it could easily be 3 zip also.
Furthermore, Cilic spanked RBA beat RBA convincingly because of his baseline game whereas Muller has too strong a serve and volley game not to cause some problems for Cilic. Same with Querrey i think although probably not as strong as Muller.
Murray in 3
Cilic in 4
lol
Andy in 4; Cilic in 4
Cilic in three.
Querrey in four.
Murray in 4
Cilic in 4
Murray really hasn’t been very convincing so far this tournament, nor of course for the majority of this year.
I see Querrey making this a real contest, and won’t bat an eyelid if he pulls off the upset.
I second Smithee’s predictions
Murray and Cilic in four .
But, have to say I agree with the above . If Querrey and Muller are fresh enough and can keep up their form , well capable of the upset .
Kind of a big if right there but accurate statement. I sure hope we get a Querrey Muller semi. Would be epic!!
Querrey must be pretty confident going into this , I read an article where he says he doesn’t mind if the whole crowd is against him .
Querrey in 4.
Cilic in 4
Good to see a few tipping the upset. You could be right, Murray looks vulnerable.
Looks like another upset is gonna happen.
I wouldn’t mind seeing the underdogs win here, especially Muller, not that I have anything against Murray or Cilic. Querry has the better chance, although at Wimbledon it’s obviously pretty hard to dislodge Murray even when he’s not as his best. Cilic’s form is very strong, and this is a very good opportunity to win a 2nd slam. Despite Muller’s efforts and my failure to rate him much of a chance against Nadal, I’m not backing him here either, and that’s before factoring in B2B 5-setters. Hope he somehow does it though, would be a nice story.
Murray in 4
Cilic in 3
I think Muller will prove to have – literally – left everything on the court against rafa, with very little left to challenge Cilic, who would have been favourite anyway. Muller beating rafa in 5 was a shock – Cilic doing that (or even in 4) would have been some people’s prediction. Maybe the first set might be competitive, but I’m expecting a straightforward win for cilic, probably in 2s and3s, like Cilic has swept aside the rest.
(Watch out Murray … a certain AO SF between Murray and Cilic springs to mind, but Murray was fitter back then …)
Cilic in a straightfirward straight-setter.
Murray in 4 sets at most against against Querrey, for same reasons as Ricky and most others.
Imagine if Muller wins Wimbledon. Wouldn’t that be crazy
I would cry tears of joy
Gilles apparently energized and ready to play. Adrenaline from playing in first slam quarterfinal. Love it. ALLEZ GILLES!!