Wimbledon 2016 - Day 7

First topic message reminder :

Schedule - http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/scores/schedule/index.html

Live Scores - http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/scores/index.html

Good to see new faces - Johnson, Vesley, Pouille, Mahut.

MoTD - Kyrgios v Murray (IMVHO).

Aut0Gr4ph wrote:I wonder when was the last time we had a weaker line-up in the quarter-final of a slam. I'm guessing the average ranking is significantly lower than the norm, which perhaps does suggest the Teutonic plates are shifting. I remember the draw opened up for Murray at Wimbledon in 2013, but think the other side remained reasonably strong. Any suggestions for a weaker QF draw than this one (assuming that Berdych gets through).

It's about average for Wimbledon. 2008 was by far the weakest QF line up in the past 10 years. Aside from Fed and Nadal, only Murray and Lopez were seeded (12 and 31).

Did you note Inverdale's commentary on the Mur-Kyrgios match? I know Inverdale is not to everyone's taste. But it was good to hear a BBC commentator actually saying stuff like "It's not been a great match" and "This is all a bit disappointing".
Made a change from the endless hype and uncritical gushing from some. What never seems to change is BBC's dreadful channel switches during matches. Makes taping of matches impossible.

Born Slippy wrote:

Mad for Chelsea wrote:Pouille seems like quite a lot of players from his age, bruising FH which can leak a few errors, solid, dependable BH that he doesn't do a huge amount with. Serve can be a bit erratic. Decent hands. Don't think there's anything special there, but I think that of pretty much all the younger generation, so you never know. On a steady rise this year after a difficult year last year (his initial breakthrough was the back end of 2014). Had a good performance in Rome, and now QF here. Good win against Ferrer in Rome, particularly the scoreline (I think it was 6-1 6-4), no stand out wins here, but steady progress.

2 wins over Goffin and 2 over Ferrer this year. I think he's got a bit more than some other youngsters, although I agree his backhand needs work. Beating both Del Potro and Tomic at Wimbledon having no previous grass results at all suggests he must have something about him.

I don't think Pouille had ever won an ATP level match on grass before this tournament.

sirfredperry wrote:Makes taping of matches impossible.

Buying the blank tapes is also becoming more difficult.

sirfredperry wrote:Did you note Inverdale's commentary on the Mur-Kyrgios match? I know Inverdale is not to everyone's taste. But it was good to hear a BBC commentator actually saying stuff like "It's not been a great match" and "This is all a bit disappointing".
  Made a change from the endless hype and uncritical gushing from some. What never seems to change is BBC's dreadful channel switches during matches. Makes taping of matches impossible.

Ironically, it was actually one of Murray's best matches at Wimbledon, which is being detracted from somewhat by Kyrgios' antics. Had Murray been any less sensational, then Kyrgios other-worldly serving display in set 1 would have probably won him the set and we wouldn't have seen the dip in set 2. It was a performance that really should have been raved over. Close to perfection throughout and didn't drop focus once.

I think Murray is an absolute certainty for the title.

I backed him at evens before the Kyrgios match, which I think was generous. Then I gave him a 70% chance of winning it, now I give him 80%.

Only Federer finding his form of a year ago or something special (which we've not seen before) from Raonic can stop him.

But as BS pointed out, even during tournaments Andy wins, he normally chucks in at least one duff performance where he's flat and uninspired. If that does happen in any of the next 3 matches, he could easily be dumped out.

Checked the stats for yesterday, and Murray's numbers are insane. 36 winners for 6 UEs, 18/22 points won at the net. Won 12 of 15 points behind Kyrgios's second serve, and kept it to a respectable 68% of points won by Kyrgios behind his first serve. Service numbers also good, serving at 64%, winning 84% of points behind first and 74% behind second serves. Seriously impressive stuff.

Aut0Gr4ph wrote:But as BS pointed out, even during tournaments Andy wins, he normally chucks in at least one duff performance where he's flat and uninspired. If that does happen in any of the next 3 matches, he could easily be dumped out.

Agree. Remember how Andy sailed thru four rounds in 2014, playing excellent tennis. He then had a massive row (with Kim?) just before his q-f with Dimi, and crashed out. Now he's married and a dad, he should at least avoid a repeat of the '14 meltdown.

sirfredperry wrote:

Aut0Gr4ph wrote:But as BS pointed out, even during tournaments Andy wins, he normally chucks in at least one duff performance where he's flat and uninspired. If that does happen in any of the next 3 matches, he could easily be dumped out.

Agree. Remember how Andy sailed thru four rounds in 2014, playing excellent tennis. He then had a massive row (with Kim?) just before his q-f with Dimi, and crashed out. Now he's married and a dad, he should at least avoid a repeat of the '14 meltdown.

He wasn't himself in 2014, still recovering from his back surgery. It seems that both he and Fed have been waiting for Djokovic to not be around at the later stages of a slam for a long time now...just so happens that Federer is recovering from his own injury at the same time.

Berdych is through btw. Murray needs to beat likely Tsonga and berdych

Fed needs to prove his back can withstand cilic and raonic likely

None of these are nailed on matches. There's some real tough matches for both to navigate before we even worry

temporary21 wrote:Berdych is through btw. Murray needs to beat likely Tsonga and berdych

Fed needs to prove his back can withstand cilic and raonic likely

None of these are nailed on matches. There's some real tough matches for both to navigate before we even worry

Berdych is on the way down, plus Murray owns Tsonga. I think he's laughing to be honest...getting to a slam final beating Broady>Lu>Millman>Kyrgios>Tsonga>Berdych. Then not having to play Djokovic when he gets there.

Federer of last year would be looking at a similarly straightforward task, not sure he's playing well enough to beat both. Think I would actually start Raonic as favourite against him.

Fed would have to be completely lame for Raonic to have any chance. Exactly the kind of player Fed would bamboozle and dismantle on grass. Didn't he beat him 4,4,4 two years ago in the semi? Plus when it gets tight Raonic's first serve percentage drops and then Fed will get a foothold in the return games.

Cilic is a much tougher proposition. He has the confidence of blowing Fed off court before at a slam and the balls to go all the way. He could take the game off Fed's racquet. Definitely the most dangerous left for either Fed or Murray.

Some tremendous rallies in the Kerber-Halep clash. But Kerber would have won earlier if she had piled in more quickly on Halep's weak serves. Can't see Halep going all the way to the top on such poor serving.
Kerber's serve aint nuffin' to write home about, either. But she's wonderfully quick around the court and has got far more oomph in her game than a few years ago. Plus, she has the confidence that a GS win gives a player.

If you've been hanging on to court one tickets for tomorrow for some months, then, unless you were a particular fan of one of the players, you might be disappointed to have ended up with Querrey-Raonic and Berdych-Pouille.

Any North Americans holding centre tickets and looking to swop inside the ground aren't going to find it hard.

Good luck Roger!
Good luck Jo!

emancipator wrote:Fed would have to be completely lame for Raonic to have any chance. Exactly the kind of player Fed would bamboozle and dismantle on grass. Didn't he beat him 4,4,4 two years ago in the semi? Plus when it gets tight Raonic's first serve percentage drops and then Fed will get a foothold in the return games.

Cilic is a much tougher proposition. He has the confidence of blowing Fed off court before at a slam and the balls to go all the way. He could take the game off Fed's racquet. Definitely the most dangerous left for either Fed or Murray.

Fully agree.  Cilic is the problem.  If Fed beats him, I expect he will beat Raonic (or of course Querrey).  If Fed plays like he played in Stuttgart/Halle and earlier here, he will probably lose to Cilic.  One good thing is that he is starting to look a little bit better.  I thought - except for the first set - his performance against Johnson was his best grass court match of the year.  He would probably need to play better than that to beat Cilic, but who knows, maybe he can do it.

Predictions:

Federer v Cilic: Cilic is a dangerous player and his results suggest he is in decent nick. However, they don't necessarily suggest he is in US14 form. Fed looks to be moving well and is a different player to the one we saw in the warm up events. I see the first set probably going to a tiebreak and if Cilic wins that set it could get interesting. However, I can't see Fed losing this match unless his level is far lower than its looked in R3 and R4. There's an element of doubt but the smart money is on Fed in 4.

Murray v Tsonga: On paper this should be one-sided. It's 12-2 overall and 5-0 on grass. However, this is Murray and he does love to make things difficult. Tsonga has won a set in 4 of the 5 grass court matches. I see a letdown here from Andy and it wouldn't surprise me if Tsonga takes the first set. Murray to come through but in an edgy 5 sets.

Berdych v Pouille: Brilliant display by Pouille to get this far. However, Berdych pretty much always wins these type of matches and has vast experience. I can't see Pouille quite being ready for a slam SF yet. Berdych in 4.

Querrey v Raonic: I'm almost more impressed by Querrey beating Mahut in straights than I was in him knocking out Djokovic. I was expecting a big letdown. Raonic looked clueless for two sets against Goffin but did well to take advantage when Goffin's level dropped. I suspect however that Raonic will get through this one more easily. Raonic in 3.

Born Slippy wrote:Predictions:

Federer v Cilic: Cilic is a dangerous player and his results suggest he is in decent nick. However, they don't necessarily suggest he is in US14 form. Fed looks to be moving well and is a different player to the one we saw in the warm up events. I see the first set probably going to a tiebreak and if Cilic wins that set it could get interesting. However, I can't see Fed losing this match unless his level is far lower than its looked in R3 and R4. There's an element of doubt but the smart money is on Fed in 4.

Murray v Tsonga: On paper this should be one-sided. It's 12-2 overall and 5-0 on grass. However, this is Murray and he does love to make things difficult. Tsonga has won a set in 4 of the 5 grass court matches. I see a letdown here from Andy and it wouldn't surprise me if Tsonga takes the first set. Murray to come through but in an edgy 5 sets.

Berdych v Pouille: Brilliant display by Pouille to get this far. However, Berdych pretty much always wins these type of matches and has vast experience. I can't see Pouille quite being ready for a slam SF yet. Berdych in 4.

Querrey v Raonic: I'm almost more impressed by Querrey beating Mahut in straights than I was in him knocking out Djokovic. I was expecting a big letdown. Raonic looked clueless for two sets against Goffin but did well to take advantage when Goffin's level dropped. I suspect however that Raonic will get through this one more easily. Raonic in 3.

Not bad. Got all the winners and the Murray result spot on. Called Fed v Cilic as a first set tiebreak but then predicted four sets on the basis Fed won it!

No praise like self-praise !

But fair enough - you did call it all pretty well.

If you don't blow your own trumpet no-one else will sadly.

What's this sport called that I'm watching right now where four women in needlessly short skirts, hug, kiss, high five, fist pump, stroke, fondle and caress each other every 30 seconds or so and then sit down and maybe nibble the very tip of a banana before sealing the thing again and towelling themselves down?

You on pornhub?

No, no...the venue is Wimbledon I think. I'm beginning to realise why all the guys who wear shades on their heads talk so much about people called Murray and Federer - their excuse for tuning in to see this other 'game' with the four hugging, high fiving and stroking girls in white

Think you need a totally different website.

Nah, think I'm just prodding observationally (and tongue-in-cheekly) at the excessive preening mannerisms that these Doubles players engage in. I've always laughed at the needless hugs and stuff after every single point.

Yes, it is all rather silly.

But then I struggle to follow women's tennis with anything more than a half-hearted, transient level of interest.

Really like the way Andy is playing, I thought Tsonga was on fire the first set and Murray just kept up the positivity and the aggression the whole time. I haven't seen him so focused and relaxed in a long time. I can't see how he loses this thing, I mean I think at the least he is the heavy favorite.

Roger was lucky that Cilic has a tendency to choke in big matches against the top guys, well except for the USO a while back. I don't see Fed as being a big threat.

I am not sure if we should be mentioning a website called pornhub on a tennis forum. That may be inappropriate. However, to be sure let me check it out thoroughly and I will report back on my findings later.

Is that a.... joke HB?

Thought I better just check it out myself too.

On initial research can confirm that there is no evidence whatever of
a) Wimbledon highlights OR
b) match results.

Yes, it's a joke. Generally people do not find my jokes funny or even realize they are jokes. However, I am sure this is because they are so brilliantly ahead of their time that they just go over people's heads.

No doubt those who had Centre Court tickets on Wednesday are only too eager to point out to those unlucky enough to be on CC on Thursday the huge discrepancy in the two days.
Doubt whether there's ever been more dire women's semis than those served up yesterday. A mismatch followed by a clash full of UEs.