Wimbledon 2013: Talking Points from Day 9

Has Murray regressed?

Andy Murray

Normally on men’s quarter-final day, the British crowd on Centre Court is on tenterhooks amidst a fevered atmosphere for Andy Murray‘s and previously Tim Henman’s entrance. But Murray’s newfound confidence on the big stage and serene progress into the last eight meant that the atmosphere for two sets was almost dozy.

The crowd were so sure that Murray would find a way out of the hole he had fell into, that they didn’t do anything to help him out of it. But of course Murray didn’t do anything to get them involved either.

After his US Open victory, people have expected Murray to kick on and become a much more consistent Grand Slam finalist. But since he was out-muscled by Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open earlier this year, sometimes his play resembles that of the old Murray, the pusher, the counter puncher, the waiter. This was especially clear during the clay court season where Murray had arguably his worst run of results in almost three years.

In the first two sets, Verdasco’s powerful forehand forced Murray on the back-foot, and that’s nothing to be ashamed about, but he never really tried to move forward, and when he did, the errors just flooded from his racket. Maybe he has some sort of injury? Maybe his troublesome back isn’t as healed as we thought?

For whatever reason, Murray’s pitch perfect movement was off kilter yesterday. Eventually,he regrouped after another confused tirade to his camp and pulled through thanks to a wild crowd that had finally woken up and maybe absorbed some of the Olympic Davis Cup-esque atmosphere from last year.

Murray won his US Open despite his two set blowout against Marin Cilic and fans of the Brit would hope this will be the case again. But if he is to win, he has to return to the attacking mentality he displayed en route to three straight Grand Slam finals.

Janowicz’s breakthrough

Jerzy Janowicz

Two of the most refreshing moments of these Championships came from the giant Pole, Jerzy Janowicz. First, after he served out against Lukasz Kubot, he collapsed to the grass and broke into tears before a heartwarming 30 second embrace with his colleague.

Second was his post match interview. Unlike Sabine Lisicki who just started crying, Janowicz was still so overwhelmed with joy that he began to hyper ventilate and could barely string two thoughts together. It was just so nice to see a young man so obviously happy to win against an old friend and to become the first Polish man to reach a Grand Slam semifinal on a day of national pride back in his home country.

And don’t count against Janowicz making his first final either. His serve has been brutally imperious this fortnight. He has fired down 94 aces at speeds of 140mph, 31 more than his nearest rival, and one of his games against Kubot lasted just 47 seconds.

His powerful groundstrokes can force anybody, even Murray, off the court if they are consistent enough. Seeing how Verdasco’s power gave Murray so many problems yesterday, the Pole will be confident that he can give the defensive master a rough ride on Centre Court. But will it be enough?

Can del Potro challenge Djokovic?

Juan Martin Del Potro

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. How is del Potro still playing?!

A fully fit player would have struggled to come out after the horrific fall del Potro suffered in the 1st game of his match against David Ferrer, let alone a massive 6” 8′ Argentine whose knee has already given him trouble for one whole match.

At the start of the match, it looked a formality for Ferrer. Del Potro could barely chase down any ball to his left. But as the match went on and Del Potro’s groundstrokes became more and more sturdy and reliable, it was clear there was only going to be one victor which was summed up by the Argentine’s rasping winner on match point.

Del Potro’s serving was also fantastic throughout, giving one of the best returners in the game almost no chance to get a foothold in any of his service games. And he’ll need his serve to be at its best in his next match as he takes on the greatest returner of all time.

Djokovic has looked completely at ease this tournament. He had his classic mid-match physical lull against Tomas Berdych where he dropped three straight games, but aside from that I can’t see any weaknesses in his game this fortnight. He hasn’t broken serve as much as he would have liked but with the amount of break points he’s generating, I wouldn’t be too concerned.

I literally cannot wait for this semifinal. If del Potro’s knee can hold out, thanks to his doctor’s ‘magic pills’, this promises to be a classic. The Argentine beat Djokovic at the Olympics last year after a grueling match against Roger Federer the day before, so we know the Argentine has the ability to beat the Serb and if his serve is anywhere near the level it was yesterday, even Djokovic will struggle to get some of those back.

But knowing Djokovic, he will find another gear against that giant and find a way to grab a hold in del Potro’s service games and from there, anything is possible. Just start praying Del Potro’s knee is fit enough though.