Wimbledon QF: Guess Who's Back

Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

Well, we have our doubles and singles semifinalists. Wimbledon sure has gone quickly. It has been a year for the young stars and it has made us wonder such questions as, "Why isn't Bouchard a top five player?" and "What has turned Dimitrov into a fantastic match player?" It has shown us that the future is here and that the future to this future is not yet even playing in junior events. The youngest person ever to win the Orange Bowl [Tiafoe] could be the future. Or his losing opponent could be.

Either way, the 'Big Four' appears to be the 'Medium Four' or perhaps the 'slightly faded Big Four' because there doesn't appear to be anything big or fourish about them at the moment. The biggest tennis tournament in the world and only two of them have made the semifinals with only three making the quarterfinals. Only one of them has made it in convincing fashion. And that one turns 33 later this year. How much power will the big four have by the start of the next Olympic season? That's the one Federer wants. He wants it oh so badly. It's also the one Djokovic wants. So, how many will be around in that Olympics and in what state? Probably in about the same state the stadium will be in.

Paes/Stepanek won the doubles third round. The fifth seeds then dismissed third seeds Nestor/Zimonjic. It took them a shade over two and a half hours to come through 3-6, 7-6, 6-3, 6-4. The match turned on the breaker which they won 7-5. Nestor/Zimonjic hit 20 winners to five but still lost. 15 aces to 3 to the third seeds who lost in four was another surprising statistic. Despite being more aggressive, the new and strong partnership of Paes/Stepanek was too much. Sock and Pospisil came through against another unseeded pair, Mate and Pavic. They then faced the second seeds. The winner would face the fifth seeds. In a similar scoreline, the North Americans came through 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4. The North Americans brought it to the second seeds, hitting fifteen winners. They will face the fifth seeds for a place in the final. In five sets who knows what could happen.

In the other half of the draw, the top seeds were again troubled. in a replica of the Swiss quarterfinal score, the Bryans won 3-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 with the breaker going to them 8-6. In about two and a quarter hours, the Americans hit 21 aces on their way to a come from behind victory against the ninth seeds. They are now in their tenth Wimbledon semifinal. They have won those semis six times and then the finals three times. So it looks like the Woodies will keep one record. If they win Wimbledon or the US this year, they will have won at least a slam a year since 2005. How's that for dominance? Anyway they will face the tweflth seeds. They won 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in two hours twenty minutes or so. Llodra/Mahut defeated Benneteau/Roger-Vasselin in what could be Llodra's last hurrah.

A lot of very good four set matches on quarterfinal day, then one five set meltdown. All in a day's work for Wimbledon.

But what happened in the rest of the fourth round matches?


CENTRE COURT: FEDERER [4] D. [5] Wawrinka
...No doubt the match of the day. In terms of quality this was the match to watch. For three sets the quality was of the highest standard but Federer just kept his standard consistent and high after being blown away in the first. Wawrinka could not match the consistent brilliance of Federer in those final three sets. Wawrinka ,though, had simply too much power in the opening set. Federer was simply unable to control the power coming off the Swiss number one's racket, especially off that backhand wing. Federer found a way again, however. He began to get back the balls, began to serve and volley. He began to put the seed of doubt into Wawrinka's mind. Then he stole the second on a breaker and slowly began to exert control over his compatriot. More and more of Stan's service games went to deuce. Fed was holding pretty easily. Soon Federer slipped into cruise control and Wawrinka slipped out of the match. Federer eventually cruised to a 3-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory. Wawrinka complained of feeling unwell during the second set but asked to see the doctor at the end of the set. It was curious. 46 winners to 14 from the Fed with ten aces thrown in for good measure. Wawrinka managed a pretty strong 51-24 but it was his errors that proved to be the first and the last nail in his coffin. Federer managed to find 7 break points and took two. It proved to be enough even though it took Fed a long time to break. Wawrinka managed just one break from four chances. The final game was riddled with break and match points. Federer could not close it out, losing some four match points before finally sealing the deal with the help of a big serve. Wawrinka may prove to be a tougher test than Raonic but there are few easy matches in a grand slam from the fourth round onwards. Federer now plays Raonic. The whole match is going to depend on whether or not Federer can work out a way to return the Raonic serve. I do not think Raonic can beat Federer over five sets. Raonic has pushed Federer close several times, in Madrid and Halle. He has not yet beaten him in best of three. There is nothing to suggest he can do it over five. I will take Federer in four.
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CENTRE COURT: DIMITROV D. MURRAY
...Dimitrov has about 50 ways to hurt you. For most of the match Murray did not know if he was coming or going. Dimitrov ran riot in the match, winning 6-1, 7-6, 6-2 and, yes, the match was as big a thrash as the scoreline suggests. The first and last sets combined lasted an hour but 2nd set with the breaker was 61 minutes long. Murray got only four points in that breaker. Murray did not turn up. He lacked intensity and he just could not find a way. That is a difference between him and Fedalovic. They find a way and they never lack intensity. They find a way to win when playing badly. He does not have that ability. If he is playing badly and the opponent is playing very well he usually struggles to find a way unless the opponent chokes. That is part of the reason he won't make it to number one. He is not quite as good as Fedalovic. Make no mistake. Dimitrov played excellently and Murray played below his best but still decently in patches. Murray went 24-37 in the unforced errors. That really illustrates how badly he was playing. He could not seem to lift himself from the mire. Five aces and five doubles. Dimitrov went 32-18 with ten aces in there, too. Murray broke just once. He only had two chances to do so. Dimitrov went 5 from 9. Dimitrov played well but he will still have to lift his level. Djokovic will not play badly. Roger Rasheed was a great hire. He will give the right help. Dimitrov plays Djokovic. That is a tough assignment to be sure. I think Dimitrov needs to come up with something new, something Djokovic won't be expecting. If I were him I would chip the ball low to the forehand. Dimitrov needs to try to break that wing down if he can. He should also try to attack the second serve of Djokovic. I think Djokovic will win in five but Dimitrov will not choke. Djokovic is going to have to take it from him.
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COURT ONE: RAONIC D. KYRGIOS
...Raonic won this match not on his serve, which was tremendous, but on his return game. He surprised his opponent with just how well he returned. He didn't quite render the Kyrgios serve useless but he won the return battle. I thought it was going to be an ace fest. It was not the case. It was a tight match and Kyrgios played very well, but Raonic showed the qualities of a champion. He managed to beat an opponent blasting everything, an opponent with nothing to lose. It took him three hours and four minutes to prevail 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, 7-6. The breakers were both 7-4 with Kyrgios taking the first against the run of play. Raonic led 6-1 in the final set breaker. He was pegged back but overall played an amazing breaker. He won the aces battle by 39-15. He also hit 73 winners and just 25 aces. The Aussie could only manage 34-22. Raonic played like a champion here. If you can serve forty odd aces you have a chance in any match. He needs to be hitting that against Fed. That is for sure. Raonic also won 37 per cent of his returning points while Kyrgios won just 18. What a returning match. Raonic needs to hit everything to the Federer backhand. He needs to serve and volley. He needs to mix it up. If he is too one or even two-dimensional he is going to be in trouble. He needs to be multidimensional but still solid. He also needs to mix up his serve direction and try to keep the errors low. He and Dimitrov have a tough task to try and take part in the youngest final since 2002.
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COURT ONE: DJOKOVIC [1] d. [26] CILIC
...Yes I left this match for last. It ends in disappointment. It ends in complete choking and the beginning of the choking was started by the tying of a shoelace. Cilic led the world number one by two sets to one. He had the momentum. Then Djokovic did something unexpected. He changed his shoes. He managed to regain his footing. Then Cilic decided to melt down. He decided that despite the fact he had played amazing tennis for two sets he would just crumble. He saved so many break points in winning that third set -- 6 of 7. Typical Djokovic. Conservative to the last. He broke even going 32 for both errors and winners. Cilic went 42-48. If Cilic had just cut out the errors he might have won. Yes, Djokovic upped his level but Cilic should not have crumbled so easily. Cilic did not even out-ace Djokovic. They both hit ten. Djokovic won 44 per cent of receiving points. That is woeful, especially for such a big server and hitter. Cilic has once again had a big player by the throat, had a chance to prove himself and blown it dramatically. Disappointing. Djokovic plays Dimitrov next and he just has to be solid. He needs to be a wall. If he can be solid and not make errors and make Dimitrov go for his shots he should win. I think he needs to play his own game and not get caught in the trap of trying to beat Dimitrov at his own game. He needs to also use that backhand up the line a lot. I think he will win in five. This match has potential to be the best of the tournament.
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Any other notes?

* - In the doubles, the talking and hand slapping happens so often. Does it need to be that frequent? Can it not just be between games? Doubles used to be a really quick sport but now it has slowed down.

* - No, I don't know why there weren't three quarterfinals on Centre Court. I do know, however, that Wimbledon knows what it's doing. I think it worked fine and at least it was clear which matches deserved to be on Centre and which did not. Well, on paper at least.

* - The top four were shown up yesterday. I have a feeling the traditional 'top four' of Fedalovic and Murray [he's difficult to fit in there] will not all be in the semifinals of a major again. The last time it happened was at the 2010 Australian Open.

* - I don't know who is going to be the favourite at the US Open. Thankfully we have a large hard court swing to tell us. Novak Djokovic, I think, is one of the favourites, but Nadal should never be counted out. And Federer? I think he could make one last run at the US Open. He has won it five times don't forget.

* - There is going to be a big change up in the rankings. I was wrong. It looks like Murray is slipping down to ten. Don't count on him returning to the top two again. I don't think he will ever be number one. In fact, I think he will slip out of the top ten this season, though he will finish just inside it.


* - John McEnroe is a good commentator. He has worked for broadcasters both here and in the USA. I think he is a great commentator, but he annoys me sometimes. To be honest, he annoys me frequently. He can sometimes be biased towards a player. That annoys me even when it is players I like. And sometimes he states his opinion as fact. No, Mr.McEnroe, Nadal is not the best volleyer in the Top 100. Stepanek, Federer, Llodra, Lopez and Mahut are all better.

* - I don't know what has been more surprising this tournament -- Dimitrov's defense or Raonic's return game.


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