U.S Open 2013 Semi-Finals: Nadal Versus Gasquet - Preview

      Rafael Nadal takes on the challenge of Richard Gasquet in the semi-finals. They have met ten times before and Gasquet is yet to defeat Nadal. It is only the second time that Gasquet has reached the semi-final of a G.S Major. However, in doing so, he had to play two consecutive five setters in the last two matches.

      If Nadal–Roger Federer matchup has been called a mismatch, there is no reason why Nadal–Gasquet cannot be called a mismatch too. It is basically a heavy top spin forehand of a left hander to a single fisted backhander. Gasquet possesses as good a backhand as Federer does, but he does not return the serve as consistently. His backhand cross courts though could be termed better than Federer’s. However, he too would suffer badly if he were to play down the line backhand on a high kicking ball. He is also not tall like Soderling or Rosol who could take high ball from their comfort zone, at least on the ground strokes. He plays from much behind the baseline as compared to Federer. This could enable him to take the ball a bit lower in the comfort zone, but could also take him quite far out of the court. He does play attacking shots and is successful against those who give up the point within two-three attacking shots. Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic fall in a different category. They control the baseline rallies much better and as the rally grows longer, the ball is likely to die on the other side of the court. Gasquet has to keep the point short, but he does not possess a killer forehand. His serves are good, but not in the category of John Isner or Milos Raonic. His forays to the net are not that frequent. Since he stays well behind the baseline, it is not difficult for Nadal to pass him if he were to attack the net behind an approach shot. If he were to play much above his normal level, it would be difficult to sustain it for three consecutive sets.

      Nadal is likely to play his normal style. He will be more defensive and wait for errors from Gasquet. If that strategy were to fail, he would be more aggressive sending more shots to the backhand. If that plan too fails, he would come nearer the baseline and trade shot for shot.

      It is difficult to see a Gasquet win, but if Nadal attains an unexpected low like Roger Federer did against Tommy Robredo, the result could be otherwise.  

Wimbledon 2013: Murray Versus Verdasco - Preview

Andy Murray and Fernando Verdasco will meet on  Wednesday, the 3^rd July for a spot in the semi-finals. They have met nine times before and Verdasco has a solitary success. It was during the Australian Open 2009 when Verdasco had the best run in a Grand Slam where after defeating Murray in five sets, he went on to nearly knock out Rafael Nadal in what some consider the best match of the tournament.  Murray has defeated him on all other eight occasions. They have not met during the last four years and never on grass. Murray is yet to drop a set in the tournament.

Murray and Verdasco play from the baseline basically. They engage the opponent in rallies and seek an opening after trading a few shots. Murray’s forehand creates an acute angle from the deuce court corner which will take Verdasco out on his backhand and is likely to pose problems. Murray has more variety in his game and is more solid in defence. Verdasco will be forced to go for a bit more on his shots to end the rally and thereby commit a few more errors than he has been seen doing in his matches so far. Murray is likely to be more patient since the longer rallies will go in his kitty more often than not. He might fire a few more aces than Verdasco, but it has to be seen whether Verdasco can take advantage of the weaker second serve. Murray will be seen more often at the net than Verdasco, but the court positioning otherwise will be similar. Verdasco will find difficult to serve aces, since Murray generally puts racquet on the opponents’ serves. Both are capable of stepping into aggressive play, with Verdasco more likely to pull the trigger first. Murray has more control over his aggression and has patience to wait for the clear opportunity to strike. Both are good in court coverage and footwork with Murray having slight edge.

Verdasco can win if he goes super aggressive without committing too many errors. This is less likely to happen and Murray has clear advantage to secure a semi-final berth.  

Wimbledon 2013: Berdych Versus Brands - Preview

Tomas Berdych, the seventh seed, takes on Daniel Brands, the 57^th ranked player in the second round. They have met once and that was in this very place in 2010 when Berdych defeated Brands in four sets in the fourth round. Berdych went on to upset Roger Federer and reach the finals whereas Brands could not qualify for the next two years. Berdych has improved his ranking since and so has Brands who is enjoying his best ranking. In the first round, Berdych defeated Martin Klizan in straight sets hitting 31 winners and committing 14 unforced errors. Brands defeated Daniel Gimeno-Traver in five long sets hitting 59 winners and committing 31 unforced errors.

Both the players are equal in the serve department and one can expect good number of aces from both ends. Brands may turn out in attacking mode taking risks with the side lines. He can run up to the forecourt leaving baseline to kill a short return, but since Berdych plays flat shots, there may not be many short balls. Brands has had issues with nerves which show themselves when he is up. Berdych too is not known to have the same mental strength as the topmost elite players, though he does not suffer from them when playing lower ranked players. He has the greater experience of playing at big stage. Both have similar height but Brands moves a bit better.

In as much as both play similar style of tennis, it is to be seen who plays better on the day. He will have to beat the opponent at his own game. Brands does not have much to lose and that can take him to at least one set in the match. Whether he can take three sets will entirely depend on how much above his average level he will play. He has played 56 games while managing to defeat Daniel Gimeno-Traver in the first round. Berdych is the favourite to win. If there is an upset, it would not be the first time that he lost as early as in the second round of a Grand Slam major. In recent times, he lost last year at Wimbledon and this year at Roland Garros in the very first round.  

Wimbledon 2013 Draw - Main Contenders

Wimbledon draw is out and speculation about the luck factor is over. The backboard teams have gone into strategy planning and bookies are busy in figuring out where to put their money.

Novak Djokovic is unlikely to lose to any of his opponents up to round four. Tomas Berdych is the main opponent before the semi-finals. Berdych will have to overcome Daniel Brands and remain steadfast if he faces Kevin Anderson or Bernard Tomic. He cannot take a spot in the quarter-finals for granted.

David Ferrer has the unpredictable Alexandr Dologopolov and big serving Milos Raonic in his quarter. Ferrer has beaten Raonic on all the four occasions they have met, but they are yet to face off on grass. Quarter-final opponent could be any one from Juan Martin Del Potro, Grigor Dimitrov or Kei Nishikori. He is not a sure shot for the semi-final spot.

It looks like Roger Federer – Rafael Nadal quarter-final unless John Isner serves out Nadal. After playing arguably the best final in 2008, they have not met on grass. Both are equal contenders for the semi-final spot with Nadal having slight edge.

Andy Murray can overcome all opponents up to the fourth round. His quarter-final candidate could be Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Marin Cilic provided Ernests Gulbis or David Goffin do not turn up in marauding mode.  

The possibility of an ex-champion taking away the honours is more than that of a new champion.

French Open 2013: Nadal Versus Djokovic - Preview

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will clash in the semi-finals on Friday, the 7^th June. They have met 34 times with Nadal having edge 19-15. However, Djokovic has dominated the head to head meetings ever since he appeared in avatar 2.0 in 2011. He comes in on the confidence of victory over Nadal at Monte Carlo in April last. Nadal has warmed up after showing indifferent form in the first week of Roland Garros. Djokovic has dropped just one set in the entire tournament so far. Djokovic is chasing the dream of career Grand Slam by lifting the only Grand Slam that has remained out of his kitty.

Nadal has some sort of match-up issue with Djokovic. After seven consecutive defeats to Djokovic on all surfaces from 2011 up to Australian Open 2012, critics started saying that Djokovic had got into Nadal’s head. However, after defeating Djokovic three times during the clay season last year, Nadal got back some of his confidence. The main cause for Nadal’s discomfiture is that Djokovic has figured out Nadal’s game fully and has the blue print of his own victorious game plan. Nadal, on the other hand, has not been able to find answers to Djokovic game. The long rallies tend to go Djokovic way. It is Nadal who does most of the running from corner to corner and tends to lose the point on his forehand corner. Djokovic will serve to the backhand of Nadal in the deuce court and draw a short response. He will then execute one-two combination in the forehand corner of Nadal. On the return of serve, Djokovic will unleash the return deep giving little time for Nadal to get into proper position to execute a decent shot. Once Djokovic gets into an offensive position, Nadal is pushed back and eventually has to push in a short ball which is killed by Djokovic. Even when Djokovic gets broken, he does not let Nadal consolidate the break by returning every ball aggressively. Nadal does not have a serve that can get him free points. His ground shots are not as potent as those of Djokovic. It is only when he is able to force errors by playing solid defence that he scores points. He has won whenever he is able to distribute balls to both flanks. His traditional forehand cross courts to the backhand of the opponent is a failed strategy against Djokovic whose backhand is more solid than his forehand. If Nadal attacks his forehand as much as his backhand, Djokovic can be put on the back foot. Even in serves, the corner serve to the forehand of Djokovic on the deuce court can let Nadal to execute one-two combination. The difficulty is that his spin does not make that serve go wide, but makes it spin inward facilitating Djokovic to execute his return without going too much out of court. The high kicking wide serve has not been developed by Nadal yet. The wide serve from the ad court does not hurt Djokovic as he has a solid backhand with which he is able to wriggle out without conceding one-two combination chance. Djokovic is able to create gaps in Nadal’s court, but Nadal does it only occasionally. Djokovic stance near the baseline helps him in creating angles, but Nadal’s stance away from the baseline gives plenty of time to Djokovic to get in position. Nadal’s tendency to convert backhand into forehand makes him cede gaps on the forehand side which have time and again been exploited by Djokovic.

Nadal will have the same game plan against Djokovic as he has had against others. He would start with a defensive game retrieving every ball and giving top spin to Djokovic, especially on the backhand side. If he is able to induce errors, he would continue. If he fails, he would start opening up the court by hitting inside out to the forehand side of Djokovic and finish the point on the backhand side. If that too fails, he would come nearer the baseline and engage Djokovic in aggressive exchanges and occasionally advance to the net after hitting aggressive shot to the backhand of Djokovic. This would be a street fight in which Nadal has equally potent weapons and is a bit better at the net.

The outcome of the match will be decided by the few important points. Nadal does well to create break points, but finds it difficult to convert them. He has had difficulties in serving out the matches in the past. Djokovic has gained in stature and confidence since 2011. His hunger for the Roland Garros trophy would be more since career Grand Slam will take him past many greats. It is not easy to predict the outcome, but Djokovic appears to be having an edge.

French Open 2013: Tsonga Versus Ferrer - Preview

David Ferrer will take on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semi-finals of Roland Garros 2013 on Friday, the 7^th June. Tsonga is the first time semi-finalist in his home Grand Slam whereas Ferrer is there for the second consecutive year. They had impressive run to the semi-finals where they are the only two players who are yet to drop a set. Tsonga’s straight sets victory over Roger Federer in the quarter-finals was particularly remarkable since even his die-hard fans would not have betted on that result. Ferrer has flown below the radar doing his job without much media publicity.

Ferrer is 2-1 up in head-to-head meetings. He is three years older and five inches shorter. Both are equally fast, but Ferrer has better foot work whereas Tsonga’s feet have to dance with forty extra pounds of flesh. Ferrer will start running from the first ball and keep running till eternity with the same speed. All balls will be successfully chased making opponent to go beyond the lines. Tsonga will have to hit many winners in a single rally to score a single point. His tally of unforced errors will rise beyond safety, unless he is able to keep the points short with superlative all court game. Baseline rallies against the human black board will show a death wish in a despondent mind. Ferrer will keep coming back from the dying positions again and again. Tsonga is sometimes seen steamrolling his opponents, but when that does not happen, he has been found without plan B. He becomes clueless when his normal game is not clicking against his opponent. With Ferrer or Andy Murray, the match-up is different than from Federer.

On the other hand, Ferrer is a returning machine, which has also learned to lace the returns with deadly sting. Sometimes there are no gaps in his court and the only way to score would be to force him into errors. Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer can do it with their normal game, but Tsonga is not that consistent or patient. Tsonga is a rare breed who is naturally aggressive and has all types of shots from any part of the court. In his comparison, Ferrer might look one-dimensional, but that dimension works. Ferrer has been called to be lacking in any single weapon around which he can devise his winners, but his counterpunching style has become too hot for most of the players. He keeps his unforced errors to a minimum and does not defeat himself, come what may. Tsonga, on the other hand, can become dispirited when things do not go his way.

Tsonga's propensity to thrive on crowd support may not totally put out Ferrer, since Ferrer has seen it all when he defeated him on his best surface in Paris in the BNP Paribas Masters 2012. It would be another match in Paris against the same local lad and Ferrer is not expected to melt down under the vocal heat from the stands. Ferrer has a better winning package on clay, but Tsonga has capability to rise to new heights as he did against Federer in the quarter-finals. Since Ferrer is basically a defender, the outcome of the match is on the racquet of Tsonga. If he makes numerous unforced errors, he will have to cry once more at Roland Garros. If he plays with controlled aggression, he can give hope to his nation to have its first champion since 1983.