Wimbledon 2013: Men's singles quarter-final preview

A tumultuous first week at Wimbledon saw seeds tumble out of the tournament like bowling pins. The men’s and women’s line-up bore the brunt of a few massive upsets, some excruciatingly painful pull-outs and the camouflaged excellence that categorised the brilliance of those making it into the second week.

Though the business end of the Wimbledon action witnessed one more shocker – the least expected perhaps – in the women’s proceedings, sedateness prevailed in the men’s line-up. The eight quarter-finalists came through without much ado even as the crowd favourites continued to enthrall as ever, not losing a beat in their march towards the final Sunday.

Centre Court

First quarter-final: David Ferrer vs Juan Martin Del Potro

David Ferrer

Both aren’t exactly adept at playing on the grass courts though each contender’s route to the quarter-final has been largely different. The Spaniard had to play three gruelling matches, including one tight five-setter against Ukrainian Dolgopolov in the third round. The Argentine in contrast, pretty much coasted through his earlier rounds which made his quarter-final presence even more significant.

A lot of variables thus constitute this quarter-final between the fourth seed Ferrer and the eight seed Del Potro. In his last two matches, Ferrer did well to come from behind a set to take control of the match and steer it his way with his vintage doggedness wearing his opponent down physically and mentally.

Del Potro would therefore need to be extremely cautious of this ability of Ferrer to stay solid and focused at all stages of their game using his strengths to his advantage. Loose points which seemed to be freely given by each of the Argentine’s previous opponents would be hard to come by, just as long and prolonged rallies would mark the trajectory of each point.

Match Prediction: David Ferrer def. Juan Martin Del Potro in four sets.

Second quarter-final: Fernando Verdasco vs Andy Murray

Andy Murray

Way back in 2009, the then world no. 4 Andy Murray faced Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in the fourth round of the Australian Open. Like a tale with many twists, the Brit lost control of the plot and eventually the match in five-sets. Verdasco went on to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open that year and finally finished that season as a top-10 player.

Ever since then, the Spaniard’s career has veered with lots of ups and downs while the Brit continued his ascension amongst the player ranks, winning a Grand Slam title in the process. The fortunes of both players thus seem vastly different on the eve of their quarter-final match up.

Fernando Verdasco has lost just one set to Belgian Xavier Malisse in his opening round. All his matches thereafter featured straight set victories with the Spaniard controlling the momentum of the matches from the get go.

Murray, on the other hand, is yet to drop a set and has been playing some excellent, champion-esque tennis for the past week-and-a-half. Verdasco however does have the game to challenge Murray and even take the match to the distance. But Murray’s aggressiveness especially when cornered – as seen in the fourth round against Youzhny – has allowed him to rebound even more strongly.

Under Lendl’s coaching, Murray’s inherent tactical acumen also seems to have intensified further, thus distinguishing him far more substantially from the player who faced Verdasco four years ago.

Match Prediction: Andy Murray def. Fernando Verdasco in three sets.

Court One

First quarter-final: Novak Djokovic vs Tomas Berdych

Novak Djokovic

Tomas Berdych has a head-to-head of 2-13 against Novak Djokovic. One of these two victories came in 2010, in the semifinals of this very Grand Slam.

In the matches thereafter, Djokovic has put the Czech through his paces, making him look like a weak shadow of his otherwise well-talented self. Berdych’s mental blockades too have played a role in his defeats, a factor that Nole would want to exploit in his opponent.

Grass is Berdych’s strongest playing surface and though Nole has a Wimbledon title to his credit, brushing past Berdych won’t be easy for him. Berdych did well to put away the looming threat of Bernard Tomic in the fourth round which should do a lot to enhance his confidence to face the world no. 1.

Nole would need to come up a consummately clinical performance so as to halt Berdych from causing yet another upset in the tournament.

Match Prediction: Novak Djokovic def. Tomas Berdych in four sets.

Second quarter-final: Lukasz Kubot vs Jerzy Janowicz

Jerzy Janowicz

When the men’s draw came out, all eyes were expectantly waiting for this one quarter-final which was supposed to be a clash of the titans – Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer. Two upsets in two days however saw that pipe-dream being blown to smithereens in the early stages of the tournament.

The eventual line-up of this quarter-final though has provided a brew of a different kind of anticipation. For the first time in the history of the sport, there will be two Polish players facing each other in the quarter-final with one certain to make it to the last four.

Both Kubot and Janowicz had to go the full quota of five-sets to make it to their maiden Wimbledon quarter-finals. Though both celebrated each other’s quarter-final together, their celebrations won’t translate to each giving in to the other whilst playing.

Each player is well aware of his opponent’s strengths and weakness, which would it make it an even contest in many ways. However with Janowicz ranked over 100 spots higher than his compatriot, the match does promise to swing the youngster’s way.

Match Prediction: Jerzy Janowicz def. Lukasz Kubot in four sets.