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Wimbledon 2011 men's quarterfinals: Preview

28th June, 2011
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Roar Rookie
28th June, 2011
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The top four seeds in the men’s field have advanced to the quarter-finals, though in a contrasting fashion.

While Federer survived an early scare from the hot-headed Mikhail Youzhny and Nadal had to battle it out against Juan Martin del Potro , Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray relished a smooth sailing dismissing their opponents in straight sets.

RAFAEL NADAL (ESP) [1] versus MARDY FISH (USA) [10]

The world number one is gunning for a hat trick of back to back Roland Garros and Wimbledon titles.

In his way to becoming the only man other than Bjorn Borg in the Open Era to accomplish the feat, looms the tenth seeded American Mardy Fish.

Mardy Fish ousted the last year’s finalist, Tomas Berdych in straight sets 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-4 in the last round.

Fish is still searching for his first title of the season while Rafael Nadal, despite losing four finals to Novak Djokovic, didn’t disappoint his Parisian fans and won a record-equaling sixth French open crown.

Though he struggled against del Potro and survived an injury scare before digging deep to advance to the quarters, Mardy Fish has to do something extraordinary to pull off an upset here.

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The head to head record stands at 5-0 in favour of Rafael Nadal and I pick the Spaniard to prevail in three tightly contested sets.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC (SRB) [2] versus BERNARD TOMIC (AUS)

“Can Bernie pull off another upset?’ must be the question hovering around everyone’s mind.

Bernard Tomic is the youngest player left in the draw. He will face the biggest match of his young career when he takes on world number two Novak Djokovic in the first quarter-final on Court one.

Djokovic has remained untroubled throughout the tournament, cruising through his matches with relative ease.

His fitness has improved. Incredible footwork and movement, consistent and dangerous forehand and backhand, fine serving and even better return games- have contributed immensely to his staggering 45-1 mark this season.

Other than against Igor Andreev, all other matches have proved to be quite straight-forward affairs for Tomic including straight set demolition of Nikolay Davydenko, world number five Robin Soderling and Xavier Malisse.

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He has a strong serve and mixes it up well with slices and spins. This will be the first encounter between the two outside of exhibitions, and despite Tomic hitting regularly with Djokovic, I still go with Djokovic in three.

ROGER FEDERER (SUI) [3] versus JO-WILFRIED TSONGA (FRA) [12]

Roger Federer has been in sublime form throughout the tournament. Except for some sloppy play from the Swiss in the first set against Mikhail Youzhny in the last round, his serve has been his weapon.

Federer is back to his brilliant best in recent weeks, winning the matches with great technical skill and characteristic flair.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, meanwhile, has managed to weather strong resistance from David Ferrer, Fernando Gonzalez, and Grigor Dimitrov.

With a huge serve and monstrous forehand, his game is well suited to grass. He came into this tournament with a good run at the Queens Club where he beat Rafael Nadal, en route to his final match-up with Andy Murray.

The head to head is tilted in favour of the Swiss at 4-1. This one promises to be the toughest of all quarterfinals. I go with Federer in four.

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ANDY MURRAY(GBR) [4] versus FELICIANO LOPEZ(ESP)

The entire nation will be hooked to the Centre Court when the national hope, Andy Murray, will take on Feliciano Lopez of Spain in the quarter-final.

The fans and experts may have anticipated a repeat of the 2009 semi-final between Andy Murray and Andy Roddick but the Spaniard produced one of the best performances of the tournament to score a straight-sets upset over three time finalist, Roddick, in the third round.

Though the Spaniard survived a four-hour epic against Kubot in the fourth round, he still remains a formidable opponent thanks to his fine serving and good slice backhand.

The head to head record between the two stands clearly in favour of the Scot at 4-0, but Murray may get pushed to four or even five sets on his way to the semi-finals

What time does Tomic play? Bernard Tomic faces Novak Djokovic on Wimbledon’s No. 1 Court at 10PM AEST. The Roar will have a live blog and scores for the match.

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