US Open 2012: Djokovic Versus Murray - Preview

Andy Murray takes on Novak Djokovic in his bid to earn his maiden Grand Slam major on Monday, September 10, 2012. Djokovic, the defending champion is bidding for his second US Open title. Murray trails in the head-to-head meeting 6-8, but was the victor the last time they met in the Olympics this year.

Djokovic at his best has a better winning package than Murray at his best. He is better in offence and equal in defence. His defence is more aggressive and does not make him retreat long behind the baseline. Murray’s defence makes him turn into a retrieving mode and cede court positioning advantage to the opponent. Djokovic ground strokes have more power and the angles he creates give him advantage of banging the ball in the open corners. Murray relies on the surprise element in hitting winners where he suddenly changes power behind his intended winner catching opponent unawares. Murray is good at availing opportunities, but Djokovic is good at creating an opportunity and availing it. Murray would try to win points also through forcing errors, if he is not able to execute a winner. Both of them have low net clearance on the ground strokes, but Djokovic puts more spin to clear it whereas Murray tends to bury a few forehands.

            The key to Murray’s game plan would be not to let Djokovic play at his best. Roger Federer has often succeeded in preventing Djokovic from his very best by mixing up the things. Murray is equally adept at this, only that he does not play from the baseline or within. Djokovic is not that confident at volleying, but it may not be easy to force him to the net. Drop shots could prove suicidal since Djokovic moves very fast. Djokovic does not play silly shots whereas for Murray, sometimes the choice of shots is not the best and even overhead smashes might find Djokovic waiting in the same corner.  

            Djokovic is comfortable with the ordinary top spin on the ground strokes which he tackles well as was evident in his matches against Juan Martin Del Potro and David Ferrer. He uses the power of the opponent on such flatter shots by diverting to the other direction with just a little wrist movement which gives him both control and power. Murray too does not put that much top spin as Rafael Nadal does. Djokovic will go to the corners to open up the court. He will attack the second serve of Murray which is not yet fully developed.  

            Both of them are good returners of serve, but whereas Murray aims to return the ball safe, Djokovic aims to force an error. In the absence of put away shots, Murray has to play at his very best through out. Even momentary lapses can hand over irretrievable advantage to Djokovic. Murray is known to be a slow starter but is capable of a fast start as happened at the Wimbledon against Federer. It is likely that both the players would aim to start fast and the real battle might begin with the very first game.

            The gap between Djokovic and Murray has diminished so much that whoever is able to utilize the few opportunities that come his way better, wins the match. The desire to get on the Grand Slam major board can give both motivation and nerves. There have been situations in the past where Murray failed to find first serve in pressure situations such as tie break or serving for the set or match. It has to be seen how he handles the pressure. Djokovic is likely to play more freely. It is an even match up with little to differentiate between the prospects of the two players.

US Open 2012: Djokovic Versus Ferrer - Preview

Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer will clash in the semi-finals on Saturday, the 8^th September. Djokovic had a straight sets victory over Juan Martin Del Potro whereas Ferrer toiled for four and a half hours to defeat Janko Tipsarevic in five sets. Djokovic leads the head-to-head meetings 8-5.

Both the players play similar style of tennis, only that Djokovic is stronger in almost all the departments. Forehand, backhand, movement, serve, return of serve and all the more, the self-confidence. He is the defending champion and played like one in the quarter-finals. Ferrer has been in the semi-finals only once before where he was defeated by Djokovic in the 2007 edition. Djokovic has since grown in stature and has added more fire power to his game. Ferrer too has improved his game and is a threat to vast majority of players, but his record against the top four is not that inspiring. His shots are efficient without being overpowering. His strength also lies in endless running, but it could turn out to be running to all ends of the court chasing Djokovic angles. He does not hit many winners, so he has to force Djokovic commit errors. He looks for the openings in the rallies, but this time, it would be Djokovic who will take control of the rally from either the return of serve or through one-two combination shot behind his serve. Ferrer is a marathon man for others, neither he dies nor the ball dies in his part of the court. In Djokovic however, he finds a man who beats him at his own game. Ferrer has to change his game for the semi-final match, but what could this be. He is not that deadly at the net, so charging to the net behind a deep approach shot is not his style of play. He does not have a deadly serve to take Djokovic out of the court and bang the return to the other side. He will therefore concentrate on keeping the ball in play by committing minimum number of unforced errors. This could be in his hands to some extent, but then he has to deal with the errors that would be forced on him. He has great fitness for a thirty year old, but he ran for four and a half hours in the quarter-finals.

Even if wishes were horses, Ferrer will not ride. He might have fulfilled his wishes by reaching the semi-finals and justifying his seeding. He will look forward to another day in the office where he will give his best and take the flight home without regrets. If he has to win, Djokovic has to lose which is possible if Djokovic plays the worst match of his career.  

US Open 2012: Murray Versus Berdych - Preview

Andy Murray takes on Tomas Berdych in the semi-finals on Friday, the 7^th September. They have met six times before and Berdych leads the series 4-2. Berdych got over Roger Federer in a stunning upset in the quarter-finals in four sets. Murray struggled a bit against Marin Cilic and came from behind to prevail in four sets. Murray has been a finalist in 2008 whereas Berdych’s best result previously has been the round of sixteen. They have split results this year in the two meetings, Berdych on Monte Carlo clay and Murray on Dubai hard courts.

Berdych will continue with his game from the last match where his powerful shots ripped through Federer’s defence. His serve was extra-ordinary, except in the third set. However, the effect of these two weapons will be blunted to some extent since Murray tends to make longer rallies and does not commit as many mistakes as a misfiring Federer does. Murray handled the powerful serves of Milos Raonic in the fourth round without much difficulty.  His own serve was good against Raonic but not so good against Marin Cilic. Both of them find first serve difficult to come by when pressure mounts.

Berdych is better in offence but in difficult times tends to become a ball basher. Murray is better in defence but becomes extra defensive when facing break points. In olden times, he was sometimes accused of becoming a pusher when trying to save the match. Today’s Murray is more tenacious, something that can dent the confidence of Berdych who becomes tight when victory looks nearer. This happened in the previous match too when he failed to serve out the second set at 5-2 against Federer. In the third set, he had golden opportunity to take the match in straight sets, but committed two double faults in the sixth game to surrender the break of 3-1 and thereafter did not win any game to lose the set. Murray has more variety in his game and is a better mover. His slices and drop shots deny rhythm to the opponent. It is the serve that is not consistent, sometimes falling to just 50% for a long patch. He has to serve at a high percentage since his second serve is considered rather weak. However, he is in good company with Berdych who himself suffers from the same condition. Berdych served at 40% to lose the third set to Federer, but was very good in the other three sets.

Berdych sometimes does not sufficiently bend down when advancing to meet a shorter ball and hits the tape with his forehand. Murray too has a tendency to net the forehand, especially the inside out one. His low slices however can pose a bit of problem to Berdych. Berdych is not that graceful in lateral movement and change of direction looks a bit laborious, as can be expected of a tall person. Murray is among the best movers on the circuit.

Berdych is not known to keep the superlative form throughout a Grand Slam major. He has greater prowess in upsetting one top player in one match than to defeat them all in successive matches.  

It will be a fight between Berdych’s aggression and Murray’s tenacity. Berdych can sometimes defeat himself but that is not expected of Murray. If Berdych plays like he did against Federer and Murray plays like he did against Milos Raonic, it could be Murray advancing to the finals.

US Open 2012: Federer Versus Berdych - Preview

Roger Federer will face Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, the 5^th September. They have met fifteen times with Federer coming out victorious on eleven occasions. Federer is chasing sixth U.S Open title, whereas Berdych is in the quarterfinals for the first time.

Federer has risen to the top position in the last few months, whereas Berdych has maintained his seventh position for almost a year. Berdych has won an ATP 250 tournament in January this year, whereas Federer is fresh from Wimbledon triumph and Olympic silver medal.

High percentage of first serves and less unforced errors will be the key to Berdych’s campaign. He does not play as well on the important points and given Federer’s prowess on serve, it has to be seen whether he is able to prevent the tie breakers. Federer has the capability to save even double or triple match points. In each of the matches played so far, Federer has served above 65% and fired two aces per three service games. Berdych has not served that well, serving only at 55% in two matches and just above 60% in the other two.

Berdych cannot match Federer in defence, but he can do it in offence. His flatter shots land deep but sometimes sail beyond. He has only one method of performing well and that is to hit the shots in with power. Since the rallies will be shorter, he has to aim for 5-6 consecutive ground strokes hit with the usual power. It will be a difficult task since Federer does not hit in the preferred zone of the opponent and does not let anybody get fully behind his shots. Berdych, being a tall person, will find it difficult to get fully behind the balls.  

Federer has the capability of finding a way to win even when the going is tough. In a five set format, he will get plenty of opportunities even if he is being outplayed. His mental strength is legendary which helps him hang in the adversity better than others. Berdych has a tendency to fade away when the finishing line approaches. If he has to win, it should be in four sets at the most. The longer the match goes, the more it grows in Federer’s favour. They have played only one five setter which went Federer’s way at the Australian Open in 2009.   

Berdych has only one winning game but Federer has many. If Berdych plays his best game and Federer plays an average game, Berdych might carve out a win. In all other scenario, Federer will move into the semi-finals.

US Open 2012: Roddick Versus Del Potro - Preview

Juan Martin Del Potro has the onerous task of facing the crowd darling Andy Roddick in the fourth round on Tuesday, the 4^th September. He could be construed as villain, out to spoil the grand retirement party. He leads the head-to-head meetings 3-1, but it was Roddick who came out on top when they met in the semi-finals of Regions Morgan Keegan Championships at Memphis last year. Roddick will also have advantage of being the underdog.

There is no doubt that Del Potro will be facing a rejuvenated Roddick who would like to put in 150% in what is being perceived as his last match. He will use his strengths to maximum effect and it is the serve department where he scores over Del Potro.  His first strength is the first serve and the second strength is the second serve. He is likely to put in not less than 65% of the first serves and given that Del Potro is not the best returner, aces and unreturnable serves will give him a significant number of free points. Del Potro too will fire quite a few winning serves, since Roddick is not a renowned returner. The pressure of the situation may come in the way of Del Potro aiming to serve a higher percentage of first serves in. It would be an achievement if he manages to put in 60%. Further, any error, forced or unforced, will have the potential to trigger a stage fright, though Del Potro has been through many big stage matches. Nerves can propel an attacking player to pull the trigger prematurely in a rally and commit an unforced error.  If Del Potro were to lose, one has to just see the balance of unforced errors and winners to find out the causes.  

Roddick might come to the net more frequently to probe weakness, if any, on the other side. He might use the slice to deny ball to Del Potro in the hitting zone, as well as to disturb his rhythm. Del Potro will not shun rallies since he is stronger in that department. Del Potro’s main strength is his forehand and the second strength is his first serve. Given the stakes on each side, it may not be a straight sets victory. If the match goes to the fifth set, Roddick will be the fresher mentally and Del Potro, physically. In the tie breaker situation, the player who is more confident of his serve will have a distinct advantage, and that is likely to be Roddick.

Del Potro is fancied to move to the next round, but Roddick is capable of turning in an inspired performance. However, it may require more than an inspiring performance to turn the tables and that would be, a poor performance from his opponent. Del Potro may not be in a mood to oblige.