I hope you recharged your batteries with the day off on Sunday because Monday is as wild as It can get! All Round 4 matches in 1 day and action will be all over the place. With some short previews I will try to showcase the matchups.
(1) Novak Djokovic v (14) Kevin Anderson
Novak has been simply untouchable for now as he took Kohlschreiber, Nieminen and Tomic in straight sets. Meanwhile Kevin has already lost 2 sets to get here. The Serb leads the h2h 4-1 with the lone win for Anderson coming 7 years ago. They met in Wimbledon 2011 edition and the South African took only 9 games in 3 sets.
A Big server against a flawless returner with Anderson having improved a lot this year, he currently sits at no.10 in the Race to London. And while his forehand now has more depth and can stay and win more of the long rallies, his backhand still remains shaky at times and mentally he still has work to do.
(9) Marin Cilic v (WC) Denis Kudla
Denis Kudla has taken every advantage of his WC and after 2 five set matches in the process has made it here to round 4. The American was fortunate and got a break with the withdrawal of Kei Nishikori which opened up this section of the draw.
“I have never come into a major playing this well with that many matches in a row,” Kudla told reporters after his third round win over Santiago Giraldo. “Grass being my favorite surface, I felt incredibly comfortable. If I get the right draw, as well. I got a couple breaks, for sure. I was able to capitalize on the opportunity to not get one of the top four guys in the first two rounds. I’m really happy with my performance so far.”
Marin survived John Isner in a 2 day battle as he came out on top 12-10 in the 5th and boosted their head to head to 5-0 while also pushing his record to 23-0 vs American players. With 81 unforced errors combined in his last 2 matches Denis will need to cut off this stat to be competitive against the Croatian as he won’t see much daylight in his service games.
(4) Stan Wawrinka v (16) David Goffin
Roland Garros champion Stan Wawrinka will try to at least match his QF appearance from last year here when he takes on the talented Belgian David Goffin.
“He is really talented player,” said Wawrinka of Goffin. “He loves the grass. Has amazing backhand, returning well. He’s dangerous because he like to stay on the line, playing really fast. We’ll see how I’ll have to play my game to be aggressive, serving well, mix a lot, making him going back a little bit.”
“I’m playing better and better,” said Wawrinka. “I’ve been serving really well since the beginning of the tournament, being really aggressive. Starting to feel more comfortable for moving and in defence also. Today was a really solid match. I’m really happy with the match today.”
“I think since a few years now, I feel really, really good on the grass. I still think I can play my best game. Last year I played a really good, good tournament, being in the quarters. So far it’s been great. I can see that I’m there in the second week playing good, not playing my best tennis, but playing good and still there. Feeling strong on the court. Hopefully I can play some great match on Monday.”
The Swiss leads h2h 2-0 and they played recently in Chennai. This is their first meeting on Grass and could become a battle as they both seem to be peaking at the same time. Especially interesting will be the backhand to backhand battle and I am sure this match will live up the expectations and be an instant classic.
(21) Richard Gasquet v (26) Nick Kyrgios
A rematch of the epic encounter they had last year in R2 when Kyrgios the no. 144 saved 9 match points to take out Richard 10-8 in the 5-th.
“Very tough because I had nine match points and I couldn’t do it, so it was a big match – Richard said. Of course it was tough to lose. He played incredible. Of course after that he won (against) Nadal. It was a big thing for everybody. Of course it’s revenge. I played him this year in final in Estoril but it was on clay. It’s much different.”
“Of course last year, even if I lost, it was a match we never forget, me and him. And for sure because it was his first match he won against a good player, I was top 10, and me, when you are losing with nine match points it’s very difficult … of course it was a tough match. When you are with nine match points, it’s always difficult to forget.”
And talking about this match, “Most important is return of serve,” Gasquet said. “He has one of the best serves in the world. He has a big forehand. He’s a tough opponent because he has such a great serve. And to return him on grass, it’s very difficult. That’s why he’s one of the best players on this court. He won [against] Raonic. I didn’t see the match, but I imagine he played and served incredible.”
Richard ousted last year semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets and seems capable of pushing the young Aussie here, but will his play be enough to get his revenge 12 months later?
Vasek Pospisil v (22) Viktor Troicki
Viktor is through to the 4-th round after taking out Dustin Brown, who previously outdueled the no. 10 seed and 2 time Wimbledon Champion Rafael Nadal. The last time he was this far in this tournament was 3 years ago.
Pospisil had to go through a 5 set battle against home hope James Ward in the previous round.
“It was a lot of momentum swings, which is normal for a best-of-five-set match,” Pospisil told the BBC. “I’m very happy with the way I came back in the fourth set. I played some of my best tennis when it mattered.”
“It’s very special. It’s my first time in the second week in singles at a slam. The first time is the most special. I have incredible memories from playing at Wimbledon. It’s my favorite tournament. I’ll try to keep going.”
This is the first meeting between the two and a huge match for both as a QF Slam spot is up for grabs.
(23) Ivo Karlovic v (3) Andy Murray
Ivo finds himself in R4 for the first time since his run to the QF in 2009. He is on an impressive run of hitting more than 40 Aces per match and just like 6 years ago he had to get past Jo Wilfried Tsonga to get here.
“I know every game is different,” said Karlovic. “I always try to begin good and if it’s a lot of aces like this, then of course it is easier. Each point is a new one, so I don’t feel like nobody can beat me. I just always go on to the next one.”
And Tsonga reflect on their match and why he is so hard to beat. “It’s not easy because even when he doesn’t hit the ball really hard, it’s coming from very high,” said Tsonga. “So the bounce is different as usual. That’s why he’s so difficult to return.”
Murray has a 5-0 h2h advantage but he acknowledges what he is up for. “He served extremely well this tournament,” said Murray about Karlovic. “A couple matches here where he served over 40 aces. In Halle, as well, he served I think the record for three sets with his match with Berdych. Extremely tough match. I’ll need to be very sharp on my returns and try and find a way to get as many of his serves back in play as possible and see what happens. But it’s obviously a very, very tricky match.”
Murray lost his first set of the tournament, against Seppi in his last round and even called a trainer (for a right shoulder) but it was smooth sailing afterwards.
Andy is one of those players that is really hard to serve aces against. He reads the serve better as the match goes on, but chances will be limited as this one will come down to who takes them.
(6) Tomas Berdych v (12) Gilles Simon
Simon leads the h2h 6-4 but this will be their first meeting on Grass and will close the cycle, as this has been the only surface they haven’t met on.
Simon needed 3 hours to take out Monfils under the roof and lights of the Centre Court and has continued his impressive showing on the Grass court season and plays in the 4th round for the first time since 2009.
Both players have had trouble getting here and although Berdych will be looking to blast his way through Simon with huge serves and groundstrokes, the very smart Simon has may tricks in his arsenal to cause trouble. He already beat Raonic in Queens a few weeks ago and has seemed in great condition, so this may become much closer than the people or bookies suggest.
(20) Roberto Bautista Agut v (2) Roger Federer
First R4 match for Bautista Agut in Wimbledon. The tricky Spaniard took full advantage of the draw when Basilashvilli took out the 15-th seed Feliciano Lopez in R2 and opened up a bit this section of the draw.
Federer lost his first set of the tournament, a tiebreak to Sam Groth. “Groth can stay in the match just by serving,” Federer said. “But the only thing I really had to change was my returning. The service games I can control myself: what to do on second serves, what to do on first serves. That’s the biggest effort for me when I play a big-server – understanding those patterns. I also needed to focus on my own serve and I did that well.”
Roberto will give the Swiss plenty of rhythm as he relies on constructing points from the back of the court with not a single dominant weapon. A tasty match with Berdych in the next round looms.
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