Wimbledon Men’s R16 Recap – Who was hot; Who was not
London, Great Britain – The R16 is done and dusted and what a sweet day of action it was. Where to begin? Why, the most dramatic match of course. Scot Andy Murray found himself in a battle royale against Stanislas Wawrinka for spot in the quarterfinals – what many Brits believe to be his rightful place in the tournament. Andy Murray entered the match as the huge favourite, listed at a whopping -2500 price tag over Stanislas Wawrinka, tipped at +900 at BetUS Sportsbook.
Murray started the match slow. So flat was he at the start of the match, he charitably donated the first set to the Swiss No.2 Wawrinka. Church-like quiet was the crowd at Centre Court (and gathered on Mount Murray), as stunned, they could only sit in worry of the fate of their man, the one they had tipped to end Britain’s 60-odd-years title drought at Wimby. (And to think, they thought he would have it easy.)
Murray got himself back into the match by winning the second set 6-3 and then went up a set when he took the third 6-3. It looked like Murray would have things wrapped up in four sets to the crowd’s relief. Wawrinka did not seem to share the same sense of the occasion; and clearly, this was part of the drama. He threw in some Nadal trademark behaviours geared to get under an opponent’s psyche, running low to the ground and jogging on the baseline. It did the trick as he launched a late surge, breaking Murray to take the fourth set 5-7. Having levelled the match, Wawrinka struck a psychological blow. Uncertainty suddenly permeated under the closed roof (first time ever in the history of Wimbledon that Centre Court action was played indoors) as the fifth and deciding set loomed.
Murray had to rise to the occasion if British hope were to see another day. And did he ever. Executing what everyone imagined (hoped more like) he would. He unfurled the full force of his groundstrokes on Wawrinka, punctuating his shots with “Come on” exclamations before finally sinking to his knees as the high priest in the umpire’s chair, called game, set, match. Murray won 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.
Verdict: Hot and Not. Patchy performance but he won so he makes the grade.
Next up for Andy Murray is wild card Juan Carlos Ferrero who beat favourite and eighth seed Gilles Simon to reach the quarters. At 29-years-old, Juan Carlos Ferrero is flying the Spanish flag in Nadal’s stead impressively at the All England Club.
Verdict: Definitely hot.
Speaking of veterans, 31-year-old Tommy Haas who beat Igor Andreev of Russia in straight sets is also enjoying a standout Wimby. The German is on a hot streak on grass having won a warm up tournament in Halle a few weeks ago in the lead up to Wimbledon. Ironically, he sets up a rematch of that final at Wimby when he goes up against Novak Djokovic in the quarters.
Verdict: Definitely hot.
This neatly leads us to Nole – the fourth seed at the tournament and once darling of the tennis community. Djokovic has been coasting at Wimby – with little attention focused in his direction – and on the heels of solid performances he emerges as a quarterfinalist. He is not a surprising quarterfinalist per se because he does have an Aussie Open title on his resume, but many had him pegged for an early exit; and naturally, his encouraging run contrary to popular opinion is significant. That said, Djokovic has perhaps the easiest course into the quarters and the easiest R16 match against Dudi Sela who he dispatched 6-2, 6-4, 6-1. Maybe too early to sing his praises then.
Verdict: Luke warm (that is generous under the circumstances).
Elsewhere, Andy Roddick emerged with a convincing 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-3 performance over Tomas Berdych. The two-time Wimbledon runner-up Roddick sets up a quarterfinal clash against former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt. Hewitt is coming off a patchy performance over Radek Stepanek, where he fought back from two sets down to beat the Czech 4-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.
Verdict: Roddick was hot; Hewitt not.
Elsewhere, tournament favourite Roger Federer advanced in straight sets over Robin Soderling. Federer looked relaxed in his victory despite the tight 6-4, 7-6(5), 7-6(5) score line. His next opponent is Ivo Karlovic who spanked (what is up with that match winning gesture?) Fernando Verdasco 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-6(9).
Verdict: Hot, hot.
That is the quarterfinal line-up all set. Check out the BetUS tennis odds as Wimbledon betting continues towards crowning the champion.
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