178-0. That was Roger Federer's record coming into today when he has won the first two sets in a major. For two sets, it looked as if he would have no troubles with Jo Wilfried Tsonga, the talented Frenchman who has shown amazing talent but has come up short due to injuries and not quite using the immense talent he has. Federer broke in Tsonga's first service game and won the first set comfortably. The second set proceeded without any breaks, and while Federer won the tiebreak handily, 7-3, the pattern for the rest of the match was set. Tsonga elevated his game while Federer's evened out. Tsonga began to hit the ball much harder, while Federer wasn't matching his increase in intensity. The final three sets were oddly similar, and anti-climactic. Tsonga broke early in all of the three final sets, and Federer never could even get a whiff on the Tsonga serve. For context, Federer had only one break point the entire match, and that was in the first set where he broke Tsonga. In the final four sets, Federer had zero break points, and only a couple of times did he reach 30-all. It was by far the biggest win in Tsonga's career. That wasn't the only exciting match today. After the break, we'll look at the other three quarterfinal matches.
Gentlemen's Quarterfinals
Novak Djokovic def. Bernard Tomic 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
For the first set, Djokovic looked like the world beater he has been for the vast majority of the 2011 season. He could do no wrong, pushing Tomic around and making him look like the inexperienced 18 year old he is. Then, something funny happened. Tomic began to make Djokovic play the way Tomic wanted him to play. The "funkiness" of Tomic frustrated Djokovic greatly, and Djokovic showed his anger throughout the set. Tomic was able to take it 6-3 and then got up a quick break in the third. The wheels fell off the wagon when Tomic was serving at 3-2, and he lost 4 straight games to lose the third 6-3. Djokovic wen up a quick break in the fourth, but Tomic fought back, got a break, and took it to 5-5. Djokovic then raised his game enough to break Tomic and then serve out the match successfully. It was not by any standard the best of Djokovic matches, but it was a solid win for him and now, with Federer out, he has to be happy about facing Tsonga in the semifinals. It will be a dangerous opponent for him, but it won't be Federer and Djokovic is a far superior returner than Federer.
Andy Murray def. Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
After the dramatic Tsonga-Federer match, the Centre Court crowd experienced a bit of a letdown, and against a different opponent, Murray could have been rattled. However, Lopez, after battling back from a 2 sets to none against Kubot in the Round of 16, had nothing for Murray today. Each set was a standard affair. Murray broke Lopez once in each set, and that was all he needed. The only break poins Lopez had were in the third set, but two missed returns and his opportunity was gone. it was a comprehensive victory for Murray, and it was a perfect set up for Nadal in the semifinals.
Rafael Nadal def Mardy Fish 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
Mardy Fish looked like a man happy to be out there the first two sets, not putting up any sort of fight for Rafael Nadal. Nadal ran away with the first two sets 6-3, 6-3, and was up an early break in the third. Then, Fish decided he wanted to fight, breaking back early and then breaking back at 5-6 to win the third set. He promptly came back down to Earth, getting broken in the fourth set and losing 6-4. The only way that Fish could possibly win this match was through his serve, and that failed him miserably. He got in less than 50% of his first serves, and got broken 6 times during the match. His return game was decent, but couldn't come through when it counted. For Nadal, it was a typical match, and he looks forward to his semifinal berth against Andy Murray.
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