Day five has not thrown surprises on the mens side. But the evening session is yet to come and both Gael Monfils and Fernando Verdasco have a battle ahead.
The day unfolded with Robin Haase starting strongly against Andy Roddick and deservedly winning the first set at 6-2. One was reminded of his match against Rafael Nadal in the last Wimbledon where Nadal was left non-plussed after the loss of two sets in the first three. Roddick too was left non-plussed which was evident from his face. In the second set, tie break ensued. Haase committed two double faults and not only lost the set but lost his heart too. All ailments and fatigue surfaced. Thereafter, it was a shadow of Haase going through the motions. Many others have learnt a lesson the hard way - never go to tie break with the likes of Andy Roddick or Roger Federer. Andy Roddick completed the formalities. He is leading the ace count with 67 in the tournament so far.
Novak Djokovic conserved energy when his opponent Viktor Troicki retired after losing the first set 6-2. This clash was a star attraction given the way Troicki put Djokovic on sword in the U.S Open 2010 and almost put out Rafael Nadal in the Semi Finals in Tokyo a few months ago. Djokovic faces Nicolas Almagro in the fourth round. Almagro is in good form having reached the finals at Auckland earlier this month, but does he have the wherewithal to upset Djokovic. Not generally, but may be if he plays at 150% of his capability. He has hit 43 aces to be in fifth position among the ace leaders. He will have to hit many more to be in reckoning for fourth round upset of Novak Djokovic.
Tomas Berdych is progressing stealthily and that should be an ominous sign for his opponents. After doing almost nothing since reaching Wimbledon finals, he is rediscovering his confidence. In 6-2, 7-6, 6-2 victory over Richard Gasquet, he has kept his ambitions alive.
Roger Federer had a good practice partner in Xavier Malisse. He pocketed the first set 6-3 in no time. But when he trailed 1-3, anxious fans started thinking of Gilles Simon. But that was just a minor hiccup. Federer immediately restored order at 3-3. Malisse did his best to arrest the momentum that was clearly going the Federer way, but failed like many have failed before him. Soon the set was in Federer’s pocket at 6-3. Federer won ten games on trot from 1-3 down and put the contest beyond realm of possibility for Malisse. The final score line read 6-3, 6-3, 6-1. The next match against Tommy Robredo is likely to be a good practice match again.
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