Federer V/s Berdych QF

Berdych in three sets or if Federer gets lucky, Berdych in 4:)

New Slam Year, Old Rulers

And the lioness prowls on the Serengheti.......once again.  Gazing proudly over the cliff at what she serbeys and she doenst see much. Just some rabbits, giraffes and zebras. All make for an interesting viweing but do not challenge her ownership of the jungle.
Thats what Serena is like.  Sharapova challenged her in the first set that stretched to 57 minutes and I thougth that was a sign of promising 2nd set. But no such luck.  The fearsome Russian lost the set tamely at 1-6.  So complete is Serena's dominance and is is exactly like the rabbit who actually escaped her grip becasue she was just not interested.
Now what next for Serena?  Will there be a contender? A new face? Will it be Konta? Kerber? Azarenka? or Chineses firepower in form of Shuai Zhang? No, no and no again. It will have to be a maverick, a player that comes from nowhere and lifts the trophy.  It will have to be a situation where Serena just doesnt know what hit her.  It will have to be a situation where the match is stretched to three sets and Serena is digging deep to counter the players' game.
Yes thats the one we are looking for, as yet a nameless and a faceless entity.
Meanwhile, Queen Serena, we bow to thee.  Your rule will continue unchallenged barring those loose incidents where you defeat yourself.

New entrants in the hopefulls club

Meanwhile Britain's Johanna Konta continues her dream run in R4. She is a set down against Makarova but leads by four games to two in the second set.  

whats the status of AO after R$ is almost done with

QF- Djokovic meets Nishikori- the outcome depends on Nishikori, whether he is able to stretch his game to fit in Novak's skier's slide and mental bandwidth.  Kei has the game for sure.
R4- Murray meets Tomic- Is a no brainer, Murray will win at the most will gift Tomic a set
QF- Federer meets Berdych- Berdych wins in 4
QF- Monfils meets Raonic- I am betting on MOnfils
R4- Ferrer meets Isner- Ferrer wins in 4 andm sets up QF clash with Murray.

Round 4 Wawrinka V/s Raonic

Wawrinka is attempting to blind out the sedately dressed Raonic with his neon bright pink uniform int he 4th round. The first game starts as a tester of sorts as Wawrinka is held to deuce in his first service game of the match.
1st game, 1set set, 4 minutes and Wawrinka delicately sweeps a crosscourt volley that Raonic puts away in the net.  Order is restored, Wawrinka holds his service game.
2nd game- Raonic booms an ace and starts his service game with his weapon of choice. But Wawrinka uses his too- the cross court backhand and score is levelled at fifteen all. Oh and Raonic is wearing bright orange wristband and oh wait, what happened here.  Wawrinka simply blocked his serve and then went our for a stroll while waiting for his return and then hit a lob that was too far out for Raonic to retirn but well iinside the court. 40-30. another ace and Ranonic levels at one game all.
3rd game- The match's first double fault from Stan. Raonic looks like a Sushi master in that headband and a calmness on his visage. Another double fault from Stan.  Thats two in a game and Wawrinka holds.
3 games have lasted 11 minutes.
4th Game-   Raonic holds. It is 4 games all.
5th Game- Wawrinka holds and leads by three games to two.
6th game-
And we jump to the 4th set with Raonic leading two sets to one and deuce in the 1st game of the 4th set with him serving.
Wawrinka's serve is wobbly.  He had already committed 4 double faults in the first game. To his relief his cross court backhand is still intact.   Its is deuce # 7 and advantage for Raonic. Will he be able to hold or will Stan break him? And he goes up 1 game to love with this one taking all of 17 minutes
Wawrinka is upset that Raonic is taking time to lace up his shoes.  He is visibly agitated.  Will it affect his game? Yes it does as he challenges a call but it is correct. 30-15 now. And a crackling serve down the middle.  40-15 and game.  This service game was fast and it will stand Wawrinka is good stead.
3rd game- Meanwhile Wawrinka is changing his racket in much the same manner that Raonic laced his shoes.  A gunshot serve and it is 15-0 with Milos serving. 30-0.  Another ace and it is 40-0.  A double fault. Raonic's 3rd double fault to his 17 aces. Raonic leads two games to one.
4th game- Wawrinka to serve. 15-0.
I am bettin Wawrinka will win in a 5 set see saw. another double fault! And Wawrinka holds his serve to level score at two games all. I must say it has not been smooth sailing for the Swiss.  His serve is not doing the usual magic and then Raonic has already served up 17 aces.  Also he has committed half the number of double faults as his Swiss opponent at a total of seven to Stan's 16. Raonic's serve is sustaining itself well into the fourth set. it is 15-40 with Raonic serving.  Stan has two break chances Unless the canadian's serve corrects the score and it does. An ace and 30-40.  One break point and Stan seizes it both his hands with a low-keeping backhand slice and Milos puts it away into the net.
6th Game- Stan leads by four games to two and is serving.  Will he hold? I think he will and also win the set to set up a thilling 5th set which he will win also. Will we see Raonic's game disintegrating along with his serve? 30-15.  Raonic is serving like his life depends on it. Excellent forehand. 40-15. Raonic holds.
8th game- It is 4-3 with Stan serivng.  cliffhanger at 15-40 but the serve again does the trick only to be followed by one more long backhand. it is deuce again.
Stan is pumping his fist after getting his serve right. He is serving wrong by that much...to get excited merely by a good serve.  But another double fault! And Stan mutters to himself.  A sliced backhand is returned in the net by Raonic.  Advantage Wawrinka and game too as he serves up another good one.
9th game- Raonic to serve. Clinical serve and play by Raonic. two points in quick succcession. 30-0
And a double fault and an ace and game. tRaonic wrapped up this one quickly.
10th Game- Wawrinka now serves for the set unless Raonic breaks him.  Will Stan's serve hold?
This set has taken 58 minues so far. The longest of the match. Ace no 1 of the tenth game on a second serve.  And twhat a backhand.  Wawrinka looks at his team after hitting it. They look at him in approval! And one more ace ot wrap the game and the fourth set.  The match hangs in balance at two sets apiece.
Will Wawrinka sail or will Raonic sink his ship.  I am backing Stan all the way.
5th Set, 1st game, 12.31- Raonic to serve
Alas Raonic sinks Wawrinka's ship and onto the quarterfinals where he meets the mercurial and merry Monfils.
I am backing Monfils play on the assumption that Raonic wont be able to couter the endless variables and variations of Monfils' play.  Now only if he keeps Monfils keeps his switch at a steaddy voltage......

Monfils V/s Kutznetsov Round 4

You get the feeling sometimes that the dreadlocked Gael Monfils was born to entertain the crowds.  His game is astonishing, atheletic, agile and strong. And yet hovering on 25th inworld rankings and never progressed beyond the quarter finals of any slams, the most recent being at the US Open last year. Both the players are at 1 set each with Monfils leading by five games to two.
I am betting Monfils wins in 4.

Lessons after Round 4

Women’s Draw- We know now that Serena is definitely meeting Sharapova in the quarterfinals of the year’s first grand slam.   I feel this will set the tone for the following year.  Though Sharapova’s nowhere near even a one arm distance from Serena, it might be a regular feature for this year that they meet from quarterfinals onwards on the condition that Maria stays fit in body and fine in mind.  Then there is Azarenka- she is sporting a very strong mind and a healed body that shows in her matches so far.  The real test then is meeting a resurgent Sharapova or/ and Serena to see how far she has really come.

Then there are two new comets, only time will tell if they will evolve into stars- Johanna Konta and Madison Keys.  Keys scored a big win over Ana Ivanovic and Konta sent back Venus Williams in the first round itself.  Back to the 4^th round match between Barbara Strycova and Victoria Azarenka.  Vika leads by a set and four games to three in the second.  But Strycova has found her ferocity and rhythm.  She is hitting harder, chasing every ball and giving it back as good as she gets.  However it might be too late unless we have a giant upset on her hands and she wins the next seven games on the trot and then the next 6 to win this match.  I have said time and again that relentlessness is the only way to go against a player who has better odds of winning.  Every ball, every shot, every court corner have to be hit, chased and explored.  You have to play like you are possessed and wear them down.  It is a game of mental arm wrestling.  If you cannot bend then you have to just hold it there without no clench and no tremor. And remember it ain’t over till it’s over. So we will see if Strycova manages to stay in the set or at 4-5 with Vika serving or give up.  It is 40-15 matchpoint for Vika. And Game, set and Match for Vika.  She does the dab and on to the next round.  Strycova curls her fingers into a heart appreciating the support of all her fans. Oh and incidentally Eva Asderaki Moore was was the chair Umpire for this match.  I hope she will be in the chair for the most important women's quarterfinal round between Maria and Serena.  She might not be though considering Serena has a bit of a history with Asderaki (twice) whom she called a hater. 

Lately, reviewing women’s matches is like reluctantly critiquing a bad Hindi movie, you gotta do it as its your job but where’s the fun.  They are mostly fighting the demons within-specially Serena, Maria and Victoria.  Serena reigns supreme in this category.  On her off day, she can lose 0-6, 1-6 and please reverse the scores when things are normal.

In comparison, men talk about styles, nutrition, training, coaching method.  Men’s matches are more exciting.  Everyone gets something new to the court- youth, different skill sets, diverse personalities, backstories and most importantly the Game.  Consistency is a problem as this last decade and a half has shown that has given us just two new faces (that are now decidedly old) Murray and Djokovic.  Potro shone albeit briefly by winning the 2008 US Open crown but even that story will be 10 years old in two years! Wawrinka is in a different league all together and by himself.  I am betting that he will win a couple more slams.  He occupies a different planet, a different cosmos. See how people constantly see only Nadal, Federer, Murray and Djokovic as the Fab four? There is now Wawrinka in their mind space.  But he is the only real and present threat.  He is completely fearless and I am not going to say a word about his game. Not afraid to come to net, content to hammer from the baseline, no fear of playing close to the lines and a serve that gives no indication if it’s the first or second.  In spite of this this, he loses to Federer in crunch matches. His game is decidedly superior but your game cannot fight a mind that still sees your opponent as the better player.  I wish Wawrinka get out of the Federer shadow that gets skinnier by the day. 

So the fab four now displaces Nadal with Wawrinka. Unless he makes drastic changes to his game or his body he will find it hard to match his own achievements.