US Open 2013: Men's semi-finals Preview

Rafael Nadal

We have reached the semifinals at Flushing Meadows. Only four remain among the 128 that started. While the top two seeds progressed here without breaking much of a sweat, the other two semi-finalists have played some incredible tennis to reach here. Here is a preview as to what one can expect from the upcoming men’s semi-finals.

Rafael Nadal (2) vs Richard Gasquet (9) : 

Head to Head Record : Nadal leads  10-0 

Nadal is having an incredible run in hard-courts. After winning the Cincinnati and Montreal titles, he has been on a roll in US Open. He has just lost one set in the entire tournament, and is yet to be broken at the flushing meadows. His ruthless dispatchment of fellow country-mate Tommy Robredo just shows how his current form is. His service games have been spot on. While he has a healthy 66% of first serves, also, he has won 66% of his second serves, which is the highest in this tournament.  His forehands have been as lethal as it ever was, making above 97 forehand winners. Also, he has won an incredible 80% of net-approach points.

Meanwhile, Gasquet is having a remarkable tournament. A child prodigy who couldn’t make it big, he has finally come of age. His performance in this tournament is a clear indication. To win two consecutive 5 setters, both against top 10 players, is no mean achievement. He is at his best and  the tournament statistics are a clear indication. He has been clean in his game, giving out as few un-forced errors as possible. Moreover, none can underestimate his lethal backhand, with which he blasted an astrounishing 64 winners.  Overall, he is a complete package.

The fact that the last time Gasquet beat Nadal was when both were 13 years old, will surely linger in Gasquet’s mind. He lacks big match experience, but his composure is evident from his performances in the previous two rounds. But he would have to bring out every bit of his cunningness in his shots variety to throw Nadal off balance. Or else, it will be Nadal all the way, considering his current ruthless form.

My Take : Nadal wins in 4 sets. 

 

Novak Djokovic (1) vs Stanislas Wawrinka (9) :

Head to Head Record : Djokovic leads 12-2

It is tough to be in Wawrinka’s place. Being overshadowed by a someone who is probably the best player to ever play the game, Wawrinka might have found it hard to gain any kind of support from his country mates. But now, he has outshown himself and surprisingly, Roger Federer, to enter into the US Open semi finals, his first ever grand slam semi finals. Wawrinka is peaking at a right time. First, he put up an incredible 4 set win over big-serving Berdych, then he stunned one and all by defeating the defending champ in straight sets. The fact that he never faced a break point in his quarter-final, that too against a class player like Murray, shows how well he is playing at the moment. His main strengths have been his serves, firing 58 aces in 5 matches.

But he is up against an immovable object named Novak Djokovic. The 2011 US Open winner has been at his usual best, brushing off opponents with ruthless ground-strokes. He did lose a set against Youzhny in the quarter finals, but it was just a hiccup as he easily won the match in four sets. His main strength has been his break-point conversion rate, which is an impressive 55%. Also, some solid serving and  strong forehands have helped him to progress without breaking much of a sweat.

Wawrinka is a fighter, without doubt. But he has to overcome the fact that he has not defeated Djokovic for the past 7 years. Mental barriers like this could induce self-destruction. But he will, hopefully, bring out his best tennis yet in this tournament against the world no 1.

My Take : Either of them win in 5 sets.