It should be a thrilling day of quarter-finals at Wimbledon

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There were no surprises yesterday as the top four women’s seeds reached the semis (we thought Azarenka might pull off a shock before remembering she was facing a Williams sister at Wimbledon). The men’s quarter-final draw couldn’t be better though: Federer v Karlovic sees the enduring grass master face the in-form King of Aces, Djokovic v Haas is a repeat of the Halle final, Roddick v Hewitt sees two of the decade’s finest grass court players handed another chance to shine and then there’s Murray v Ferrero, the weakest of the line-up but with huge public interest. Here are three stats on each match:

Tommy Haas (24) v Novak Djokovic (4)
» Djokovic has a 2-1 head-to-head record with Haas but the German beat him in the final at Halle on grass last month.
» This is the furthest Haas has ever got at Wimbledon, continuing a trend where each of the last seven Halle winners have reached the last eight. He has reached three Grand Slam semis but all in Australia.
» Djokovic has won 13 of his last 15 quarter-finals and has reached the last four of six of the last seven tournaments he’s entered.

Lleyton Hewitt v Andy Roddick (6)
» Both men have won 27 career titles, reached four Grand Slam finals and won at Queen’s four times. Therefore it’s no surprise that they are almost inseparable head-to-head, with Hewitt holding a 6-5 advantage.
» Roddick has the advantage on grass though having won their two previous

Posted: July 1st, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | 1 Comment

Victoria Azarenka is capable of shocking Serena Williams

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It’s ladies day today at Wimbledon as all four women’s quarter-finals take place. Here are three stats about each encounter:

Dinara Safina (1) v Sabine Lisicki
» The pair have only met once before, with Lisicki beating Safina in three sets at last year’s Australian Open.
» The bad news for the German is that only one unseeded woman has reached the last four in the last eight years - Jie Zheng last year.
» The world number one has won eight of her last nine quarter-final matches.

Victoria Azarenka (8) v Serena Williams (2)
» Serena holds the 2-1 head-to-head advantage but Azarenka has shown she can hang with the ten-time Grand Slam champion this year.
» At the Australian Open she won the first set before retiring in the second

Posted: June 30th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Stanislas Wawrinka may face more round of 16 heartache

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After a Wimbledon-less Sunday, things get very exciting today as every single man and woman left in the single’s tournaments will be in action. Here are three stats about each of what we consider today’s four main matches:

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Andy Murray v Stanislas Wawrinka
» Murray has a 4-3 head-to-head record against Wawrinka and has won four of their last five clashes. They have never met on grass.
» The world number three has won all three of the duo’s meetings at the round of 16. Wawrinka has exited five of his last eight tournaments at that stage, with four of those losses coming against players ranked in the top five.
» The Swiss 24-year-old hasn’t reached the last eight of a Grand Slam in 17 career attempts, whereas Murray has done so in three of his last four.

Robin Soderling v Roger Federer
» Soderling and Federer have met ten times and the world number two has

Posted: June 29th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Murray has a chance to make a statement against Gulbis

Five stats about the world number three’s second round match

After an underwhelming performance against Robert Kendrick in the first round, Andy Murray needs to make a statement to prove that he really is a genuine contender to win Wimbledon. A straight-sets victory over Ernests Gulbis tomorrow would do just that:

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» The Latvian has lost just two of his first 22 Grand Slam matches in straight sets. That compares favourably with the records of Roger Federer (five) and Rafael Nadal (four) while breaking through and is on a par with Murray and Novak Djokovic.

» Gulbis was the only man besides Federer to take a set off Nadal last year at Wimbledon - winning the opener of their second-round match 7-5 to become the only man to hold a set lead over the Spaniard at SW19 in 2008.

Posted: June 24th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Roger Federer and Fernando Gonzalez are favourites to make the French Open Final

A 2007 Australian Open Final repeat could be on the cards

Over the course of the last 14 Grand Slams there has only been one final that has occurred more than once - with Roger Federer facing Rafael Nadal seven times in that period. However, the bookmakers make Federer and Fernando Gonzalez favourites to win their semi-finals and set up a repeat of the 2007 Australian Open Final. Here are all the key stats about today’s matches:

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Robin Soderling v Fernando Gonzalez
Soderling has taken care of David Ferrer, Nadal and Nikolay Davydenko to get this far but now has to conquer Gonzalez, who he has lost four straight clashes with, two of which were on clay. Over the last three years, every men’s semi-final at Roland Garros has been won by the player who won the pair’s previous meeting. Both men have had sensational tournaments so far, with Soderling dropping just two sets and Gonzalez one so it should be close. The Chilean is a worthy favourite though having excelled in his only other Grand Slam semi (Australian Open 2007), beating Tommy Haas 6-1 6-3 6-1.

Posted: June 5th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Fernando Gonzalez will offer Andy Murray his first real test

Previews of today’s four French Open quarter-final matches

Considering Andy Murray had only previously won two matches at Roland Garros, his path to the quarter-finals this year has been surprisingly straight-forward. With Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic eliminated, this is being viewed as a great chance for him to break his Grand Slam duck but today’s last eight clash with Fernando Gonzalez is unlikely to be a walkover:

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Robin Soderling v Nikolay Davydenko
Soderling recorded one of the most historic victories in French Open history by eliminating the previously unbeaten Nadal in the last round but building on that success could prove a tough task. The last two men to knock the world number one out of a Grand Slam - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Australia last year and Murray at Flushing Meadows - were beaten in the next round. This is the first time the Swede has got this far in a Grand Slam whereas Davydenko has reached the semi-finals twice before at Roland Garros alone. Intriguingly, Soderling has won their two previous meetings on clay though.

Andy Murray v Fernando Gonzalez
Murray have never met Gonzalez on clay before but will need to be at his best because the Chilean is enjoying a fantastic season on the surface. Gonzalez has reached the final four in all three of the clay tournaments he has entered

Posted: June 2nd, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment