Australian Open 2012 - 1/4 Final - Day 10

It all happens here with 2 straight forward matches...or so should they be.

Djoko v Ferrer - Djoko win at 100% bar injury of course

Murray v Nikishori - Murray win at 70%



So I don;t expect much surprise but I somehow see a tougher match for Murray.

I would expect a five-setter for Murray-Nishikori.

laverfan is that more hope than expectation?

Don't get me wrong Nishikori's talented enough but he's had at least a couple of tough rounds to get through whilst the new improved Andy (and that's not meant to be cynical) has had an easy ride so far and must be really confident going into this one.

Difficult to see it going past 3 sets unless Nishikori "does a Harrison"

newballs wrote:is that more hope than expectation?

Both.

For Andy, would like to to see him win this slam. This should be much better than an injured Kukushkin. Much rather see him work out his demons now, than in the SF/F.

For Nishikori, the satisfaction of playing a good QF.

Tomic left a unfulfilled sense of expectation, which Nishikori has the potential to fulfill.

To some good tennis.

Well Tomic like Del Potro was simply out-played by Federer.

Nishikori might suffer the same fate at the hands of Andy but here's hoping it is a good match up.

The way Nishikori dealt with Tsonga was very well done. Hope it is a good match.

But the Scot insists he is happy to have had a relatively easy ride into the last eight.



He added: "I thought I played a little bit better each round. I didn't feel good at all in my first match [against Ryan Harrison] but I managed to get through. Then I started serving better and moving better.

<p>"I will definitely be fresh for the next few rounds, hopefully."

Oh oh....I remember when champions were not looking further than the next opponent....
Clearly Andy is not superstitious.

Easy wins for te favourites. No drama.

Djokovic is as good in the final, the only issue is whether Federer can beat Nadal, otherwise Nole better get writing his acceptance speech.

I can see Murray causing some problems to Djoko this time around.

Djoko in 3, Murray in 4 or maybe 3 but Nishikori is an unknown quantity for me but would be very impressive if he can do more than that at this late stage of the tournament without the experience if going deep. Fancy he might take a top player scalp this year, but not at a slam?

Tenez, off to bed in a minute, but what was the thing with the conditions?

Night = cool = slow

Day = hot = fast

Is that right?

Do you know why? Always been a mystery to me. Might have asked this before ages ago but can't remember the answer now.

PM for you, Tenez.

Henman Bill wrote:Tenez, off to bed in a minute, but what was the thing with the conditions?

Night = cool = slow

Day = hot = fast

Is that right?

Do you know why? Always been a mystery to me. Might have asked this before ages ago but can't remember the answer now.

The tennis balls are pressurised to begin with. They slowly lose their pressure after removal from their pressurised cannisters and this is the reason why the balls are changed after every seven / nine games of play. However the internal pressure depends on temperature - the greater the temperature the greater the internal pressure. It is this internal pressure that is key to the balls bounce - the greater the internal pressure the greater the bounce. Hence the greater the temperature, the greater the internal pressurisation and hence the greater the bounce or "ping".

There are a few other factors to consider but the above is the main one.

Andy Murray/Kei Nishikori about to take to the courtin a few minutes. I see Andy looking to move Nishikori around and drain his energy. Hopefully, Andy to win in three or four sets at the most but this will be his biggest test to date in the tournament.

First set to Andy Murray 6-3 and an early break in the second set. He has done as I suspected in testing Nishikori's stamina reserves and it has impressed that he has not beaten himself up when missing a shot or break point chances.

Andy Murray takes a very similar second set to lead Kei Nishikori 6-3 6-3. I can only see this match going one way now. Andy must look to improve that first serve percentage against Djokovic though. All in all good stuff.

Andy Murray seals a comfortable 6-3 6-3 6-1 win over Kei Nishikori to seal his fifth successive slam semi-spot. Mentally strong performance and although the scoreline was impressive there is still room for improvement with that first serve percentage yet. Next up will probably be Djokovic. Looking forward to that.

CaledonianCraig wrote:First set to Andy Murray 6-3 and an early break in the second set. He has done as I suspected in testing Nishikori's stamina reserves and it has impressed that he has not beaten himself up when missing a shot or break point chances.

Wouldn't it be a thing if he decided just to play the guy off the court with imagination and virtuosity? I often hear how he has so much talent but I am wondering how substantial that can be if he doesn't use it on a guy like Nishikori.

If I want to watch someone test the others stamina reserves to win, Eurosport are doing plenty of biathlon.

Only saw end of second and whole of third set by that time Murray was in total control against (as he admitted) a tired opponent. Definitely needs to get first serve sorted out though. If he only serves at around 40% first serves in during the semi he will be in big trouble. Anyway that him reached his seeded position and 7th semi in last 9 slams. Now is the time to see what Lendl can bring to the table.

Tennis is also a thinking game. Which is why we see players mix-up their serve or play to another player's weaknesses. If wearing down an opponent increases ones chances of reaching a slam semi then of course you use it. It is called sound tactics. Besides Nishikori hung in there plenty well in those rallies and won a few - very entertaining rallies there were too. As for imagination, Andy's game has always had plenty of that. Five slam semis on the bounce - an impressive stat that in itself for one so quickly berated by posters here. Jeez how can someone as talentless as Murray reach five slam semis on the bounce guys eh?

Well you suggest he goes to the stamina solution against moderately talented opponents. That might be a clue.

My feeling is that if you have virtuosity then you use it. Cant see the point of doing otherwise, and using this talent doesn't mean he's not thinking, it means he's using his skill.

I didn't start this observation of how Murray plays his tennis; you predicted he would and announced how right you'd been. How depressing to know he's that predictable - if Tenez had declared this in advance he'd have been savaged by you and bantroban.

Ah I see you can't knock Andy so you have to knock his posters eh? There is tennis going on why not stick to that rather than attacking other posters. After all it is what this forum is here for.

Read my first post on this thread. Nottjing to do with you lot, all about Murray. Indeed neither of my posts here are about you. However I can be tempted down that line.

Honestly, you guys are all over the place.

Your first post on this thread as far as I can see only states that the favorites would win today's QF's and that Murray may as well not turn up for the semi as only Federer could stop Djokovic. Hardly all about Murray.

Err no - your post about me or banbrotam savaging Tenez. How so? Is it really so shocking I predicted Andy would play the smart man's game and work Nishjikori around the court? No of course not but you needed to diversify that into another snide dig about predictability. Like I said stick to the tennis and hey maybe even congratulate Andy for reaching five semis on the bounce. Or is that asking too much?

"The smart game"

Nore Staat wrote:The tennis balls are pressurised to begin with. They slowly lose their pressure after removal from their pressurised cannisters and this is the reason why the balls are changed after every seven / nine games of play. However the internal pressure depends on temperature - the greater the temperature the greater the internal pressure. It is this internal pressure that is key to the balls bounce - the greater the internal pressure the greater the bounce. Hence the greater the temperature, the greater the internal pressurisation and hence the greater the bounce or "ping".

There are a few other factors to consider but the above is the main one.

That's correct. The second factor is the travelling through the air. hot air means thin air and the ball flies faster.

Advantage for Federer are it gives him a better serve. The disadvantage is that it makes is timing tougher and over the distance is likely to have his BH broken.

A cooler conds will give him lower bounce, not as good a serve and his BH will lose some power meaning he might see the ball coming back more on this side...but he will have an extra split sec to get a better timing and pick his spots better.

My view is v Nadal he is better off on lower/slower bounce courts....versus anybody else (Djoko, Murray) teh faster, the better.

Djokovic trying to set a new record in squandered break points.

This is going to be ridiculously one-sided.

bogbrush wrote:"The smart game"

Yes. Reminds me Brad talking about Nadal as having the best tennis brain. Lucky Nadal had also lungs, legs and guns cause he would would not have gone very far with his brain alone. Good for him that his many doctors that fixed his body had a proper brain too.

bogbrush wrote:Djokovic trying to set a new record in squandered break points.

This is going to be ridiculously one-sided.

And how different from their encounter in London a few weeks ago.

I think Djoko will be in trouble v Murray. My money is on Murray now.

Tenez wrote:I think Djoko will be in trouble v Murray. My money is on Murray now.

I'm finding it very tough to call as it is hard to say where either of their games are really at right now. Neither of them (particularly Murray) has faced a real challenge yet. If Murray serves like he did today, he will be in trouble. If Djoko's mind goes walkabout for a set like it did against Hewitt, he will be the one in trouble.

I did not see Murray's matc today but saw him v Llodra and a bit v Harrison and he seems to ave a more compact game with heavier shots than Djokovic.

I think they might be in for a battle.

We see in a match like this however the relative average shotmaking quality of today's players compared to previous times. It's about making the opponent run and not about scoring easy points.

Djoko seems tired and breathless...early in this match. He is doing ok but he doesn't seem as fit as last year. Is it the heat / allergy issue again?

Watched the Murray match earlier. Not impressed. 47% first serves in. Not going to win a Slam with that and lucky enough for it to be against a player who was clearly fatigued.

Watching Djoko and I am sensing an MTO!!!

They are saying a similar thing on the commentary. I have a horrible feeling that the wheels of the Djokovic bandwagon may be starting to wobble somewhat. And now Ferrer breaks back. Troubling times.

Not sure how the commentators make Ferrer favourite. What idiots!! Ferrer hasn't the weapons because that first set he just pushed through the centre of the court. Only Djokovic can hand him the match.

Still not convinced that Ferrer can win this match like the commentators are insinuating. Djokovic is struggling and yet Ferrer hasn't made it count on the Djokovic serve.

Crack the serve? It really is dumb and dumber in the commentary box.

This is ridiculously physical

Ferrer is no World no.5.

He pushes and pushes and rarely hits the lines. Poor showing. Once Djokovic controls the rallies it is a foregone conclusion.

In the last 14 Slams, Ferrer has reached QF stage or better only once! (not counting this AO). Just illustrates that he hasn't got what it takes to beat the top guys when it really counts.

Very good work ethic though!

This old fart of a commentator is a bafoon. First he was saying Ferrer was going to win when Djokovic was a bit puffed out, and now he says it is a frame of mind? Ferrer gifted the last 3 games!! Djokovic has seen sense and Ferrer hasn't. Ferrer is not going to outlast a Djokovic. Djokovic is shortening the points. Something Ferrer should've done in the 1st set.

Dear David Ferrer,

You don't know me, but I am a big tennis fan. Can you do me a big big favour when in matches? Will you step inside the Flip court for once!! You might enjoy it and even find points shorten and your efficiency increase.

Regards

LK

This massive choke by Ferrer has made me sick. Utter disgrace!

emancipator wrote:This is ridiculously physical

No, you mean "smart" tennis!

The worst set of tennis I have seen this year.

Superhuman by Djokovic? My arse was it!

Wilander is good commentator but yesterday I felt he said a stupid thing. Saying Ferrer was a champion cause he was a fighter has some truth in it but how many times have wee seen him choke, and choke is the proper word, against Nadal and other opponents? Here v an ailing Djoko he was not able to tighten the screw.

Now he is out...

Djoko on the other end is a real champion. His belief is quite impressive as Federer experienced a few times.

Agree there Tenez. Ferrer choked big time in that second set.