Murray tested at Wimbledon, top three seeds advance to quarterfinals

 

The match opened with 18^th ranked Stanislas Wawrinka taking the first set off of Murray 6-2. Wawrinka played very well throughout the match, challenging Murray to earn every point he won. Murray took control of the next two sets, winning them both 6-3. In a very suspenseful fourth set, Wawrinka fought hard for a late break, and won the set 7-5. The final set showcased two very tired players, fighting hard for every single point. Murray broke Wawrinka’s serve early in the deciding set, but Wawrinka broke back on the following serve. Murray was able to again break at 4-3, giving himself an opportunity to serve for the match. He played the final game very well, and simply outlasted Wawrinka to a 6-3 final set. At the end of the final point of the match, Murray fell to the ground, emotional and exhausted. The match ended at 10:40 PM local time, the latest match in Wimbledon history, allowed only by the new roof over Centre Court. Murray, who is seeded second in the tournament, is trying to become the first player from Great Britain to win his country’s home grand slam since Fred Perry in 1936.

 

The other highly anticipated fourth round match featured the two French Open finalists, Roger Federer and Robin Soderling. Federer, who was 10-0 against Soderling after the French Open, had never played against Soderling on grass. When Soderling was asked if he had a better chance at beating Federer on grass, Soderling simply replied, “No.” Each set in Monday’s match between the two was tight. A late break in the first set gave Federer a one set lead, but that would be the only break of the match. Both players served very well in the second set, and Soderling pushed Federer into a tiebreak. Federer aced his way to a second set victory, winning the breaker 7-5. The third set was very similar to the second. Both players served well, fought hard, and pushed each other to a tiebreak. Federer’s ground strokes were flawless in the third set breaker, again edging out Soderling 7-5. Federer will play Ivo Karlovic in the quarterfinal round. Karlovic, who has defeated 9^th ranked Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and 7^th ranked Fernando Verdasco in his last two matches, has been serving phenomenally so far this tournament, and has not lost a service game in any of his four matches.

 

Although he may be playing better than anyone so far at Wimbledon, 4^th ranked Serbian Novak Djokovic has gone under the radar in the tournament. Djokovic has won in straight sets in his last three matches. He defeated 28^th ranked American Mardy Fish 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, and on Monday defeated Dudi Sela 6-2, 6-4, 6-1. Djokovic will play one of the hottest players in the tournament in the quarterfinals, Tommy Haas.

 

The only American left in the Men’s Draw at Wimbledon, Andy Roddick, also has a good shot at taking the title. Roddick has been very consistent so far this year at Wimbledon, winning every match he has played in four sets or less, including a commanding victory over Tomas Berdych on Monday, 7-6, 6-4, 6-3. Roddick will play surprise quarterfinalist Lleyton Hewitt, who took down 5^th ranked Juan Del Potro in early round play.

 

The top three seeds all remain at Wimbledon heading into the quarterfinal. Will Novak the sleeper win his second grand slam title? Will Andy Murray be the first Brit to win Wimbledon in over 70 years? Or will Roger Federer win his record breaking 15^th grand slam and 6^th Wimbledon title? We will have to wait and see.