Manic Monday at Wimbledon - Men's preview

Here we are. After one week of riveting action of non-stop tennis, we have finally arrived at the middle Sunday of the championships, a day which is traditionally a rest day since the inception of the event. However, for tennis lovers, it is just an appetizer for what lies ahead.

Yes. I am talking about “Big Monday”, a day like no other in the tennis calendar. Monday will see all the fourth round matches take place on centre court, as well as the show courts and side courts. And going by the first week which had everything from great matches, fervent attendance, battle of the sexes (literally – thank you Gilles Simon), a Royal touch, a last-ditch scramble to finish a match before the 11 p.m curfew and last but not the least a huge upset involving a certain Majorcan’. It is but natural for fans to expect an even more enthralling second week. Here is a preview of each of the eight Men’s fourth-round matches to be played on Monday with somewhat bold predictions from the writer.

MEN’S PREVIEW:-

NOVAK DJOKOVIC(1) VS VIKTOR TROICKI

LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 29: Novak Djokovic of Serbia

Djokovic’s path to the semis was made easier when the highest seed in his draw, Tomas berdych was upset in the 1st round by perennial headcase Ernests Gulbis. Berdych had beaten Nole in the 2010 semi-finals and has always been a tough cookie on grass. That said, Troicki, Novak’s Davis Cup mate is also a decent competitor who usually operates from the baseline and hits the ball flatter. However, the problem for the Serb is that Djokovic does both things better than everybody else. In the past, Troicki has pushed the big guys in the Slams, most notably when he held match points against Murray last year at the French and led Djokovic by two sets to love in the 2010 US open but this will be a bridge too far for him.

PREDICTION: Djokovic in Three

R.FEDERER(3)VS X.MALISSE

LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 01: Roger Federer of Switzerland practices in the rain at Wimbledon on July 1, 2012 in London, England.

After avoiding an upset like his arch-rival rafa in the previous round on the hallowed centre court which he has conquered six times, Fed meets old friend and another journeyman in the affable Belgian, who like Federer, is in his 30s and super talented, but unlike federer, has not been able to bring it all together. Nevertheless, Malisse is an exciting stroke-maker and has been a semi-finalist here in 2002. We should therefore be up for an exciting match. However, having been given a wake-up call by Benneateau, it’s fair to expect Federer to mean business from the start.

PREDICTION: Federer in Three

A.MURRAY(4) VS M.CILIC(16)

LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 01: Andy Murray of Great Britain in action during a practice session at Wimbledon on July 1, 2012 in London, England.

Coming into this match after a 51/2 marathon against Querrey, the big question on everyone’s lips is how much energy is left in Cilic’s tank, especially considering that he has to be prepared to do a lot of running against Murray. Though cilic has a history of five-setters at Grand Slams, facing Murray immediately afterwards may not be to his liking. Muray just about survived the clock in beating Baghdatis in the last round and given the kind of heavy hitters lurking in his draw, he may want to get this one over as quickly as he can. Murray leads the head to head 5-1 with Cilic’s lone win coming at the 2009 US open in the same stage. The Chances of that happening again look slim, though. Cilic has a great serve and forehand thanks to his height, but Murray is one of the best returners in the game and usually gobbles up big servers like he did with Karlovic in the last round.

PREDICTION: Murray in Four

M.YOUZHNY(26) VS D.ISTOMIN

LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 29: Mikhail Youzhny of Russia

The scrappy Uzbek has played well so far in achieving his best ever showing at Wimbledon. Istomin is not a very remarkable player but he excels at doing everything well on court. However, he will be up against Youzhny, the temparamental Russian who has been a quarter-finalist here before. Youzhny won a set over Federer at the same stage last year, and knocked out 8th seed Tipsarevic in the last round with some superb all court skills. Youzhny’s one handed backhand when on song is still a treat to watch and one has to like his chances of matching his best ever showing here.

PREDICTION: Youzhny in Four

J.TSONGA(5) VS M.FISH(10)

LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 30: Mardy Fish of the USA

A semi-finalist last year, Tsonga famously snapped Roger Federer‘s 178-match streak of having never lost when leading by two sets to love in grand slams in the quarters last year. Tsonga has been in good form this year, winning a couple of titles, and held four match points against Djokovic in front of his home crowd in Paris before eventually crumbling and has been rewarded with a career-high ranking of five. Tsonga’s finger, which was a concern going into the event has been okayso far and his play solid, so he will start as the favourite against Fish.

Fish, along with his compatriot Baker, has been the feel-good story of the tournament. Having had a heart procedure just three months ago, Fish, in his own words, was not even sure he would participate, so he has done more than well to reach the second week. Though Fish is relatively stronger on the forehand wing and service, Tsonga’s better all court play and athleticism gives him the edge. Plus, Fish has had to overcome a long five-set match in his previous rounds so he may be fatigued which is not that surprising considering his health. The duo played an enthralling 5-setter at the US open last year, so the crowd can expect some fiesty rallies.

PREDICTION: Tsonga in Four

D.FERRER(7) VS J.M.DEL POTRO(9)

LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 01: David Ferrer of Spain arrives for a practice session at Wimbledon on July 1, 2012 in London, England.

Arguably the pick of all the matches, this fourth round clash is a match-up of contrasting styles : the quitessential counter-punching of Ferrer against the rocket groundstrokes of Del Potro. Ferrer looked sharp when he disposed of Roddick in the last round and his ability to make his opponent play an extra shot is often key in his matches (except against the Big Four). Having reached the semis of all the other grandslams, Ferrer seems due for one here .

However, he will have to first pass through the heavy artillery-laden giant that is Del Potro. Del potro has been playing more and more like he used to during his pre-injury days and though he is still not there, his level is continuously improving and realistically seems the only consistent threat to the hegemony of the Big Four in near future. Del Potro has been solid all week and played his best match while thrashing Japanese upstart Nishikori in the last round. Ferrer leads the head to head 4-2, but that does not give a clear picture as most of Ferrer’s wins came when Del Potro was still recuperating from his wrist injury. Still, the quality of players involved makes it a 5-set lock and I would pick the Argentine for his explosiveness and majestic shotmaking..

PREDICTION: Del potro in Five.

B.BAKER VS P.KOHLSCHREIBER(27)

LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 30: Brian Baker the USA

Where do you start with Brian Baker? The other half of the cindrella story of the tournament, Baker has defied all odds and logic to reach the second week and now with Nadal out, has a realistic chance of reaching his first ever quarter-finals in just his fifth ever Grand Slam appearance. Sidelined for seven years due to a series of surgeries that all but ended his tennis career prematurely, the now 27-year-old miraculously made a comeback last year and saw it gather steam in the clay-swing this year, where he reached the finals at Nice and made it to the third round of the French Open. Having been refused a wild-card by the Wimbledon authorities, baker had to come through three qualifying matches to make it to the main draw, and will be looking to extend his fairy tale against his German opponent.

Kohlschreiber was scheduled to play Nadal in third round but got a lucky reprieve when a Czech journeyman played the match of his life to knock out the Spaniard. Having won in Halle last year, the German is a good grass-court player but Baker’s superior baseline play gives him a slight advantage.

PREDICTION: Baker in Four

R.GASQUET(18) VS F.MAYER(31)

LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 29: Richard Gasquet of France

The final clash pits the immensely gifted but equally mercurial Gasquet against Mayer, the German whose main claim to fame is his 3rd round win over Nadal in shanghai last year. Possessing arguably the most beautiful one handed backhand in sport right now, Gasquet once was hailed as “the next big thing”, though he could never utilise his ridiculous potential. Gasquet looked sharp in his last round win over higher seeded Almagro and will be looking to get off to a similar fast start against a capable if not a necessarily spectacular opponent.

PREDICTION-Gasquet in Four