We’re now officially in the second week and it kicks off with a tasty match between number five seed Andy Murray and the rising American, No. 33 seeded John Isner. Isner, nicknamed “Grandpa” during his college playing days due to his laconic style, will be looking for another big win after he took out Gael Monfils in the last round.
Since this is their first meeting, Murray will probably feel more pressure to prove he is the game’s best returner when he faces Isner’s serves. If Murray can get in the points, he should win. Should I say because Isner’s backcourt game has improved in the last six months and this will keep him in the rallies. If it comes down to tiebreaks, Isner has a chance, but I still think Murray will figure it out in four sets.
Being somewhat overshadowed by Isner’s run is Andy Roddick who takes on familiar foe Fernando Gonzalez in the final night match. If this were being played in the heat of the day, I would go for Roddick in straights. But at night, and with this surface, things could get slow and that favors Gonzalez who appears to have found his game again along with several hundred passionate, and AO officials would say too passionate, Chilean fans. Gonzo could push Roddick to five but if Roddick can keep serving in the 75% first serve range, he should take this one.
Marin Cilic takes on Juan Martin Del Potro who has looked ok, but not great. Cilic has a chance here to get another big Slam win, so I’ll take him in four sets. Rafael Nadal is also playing today. He’s taking on the big serving Ivo Karlovic, but unlike Isner, Karlovic doesn’t have enough variety and I can see Nadal cruising in three here.
The comeback kid Justine Henin takes on fellow Belgian Yanina Wickmayer. Wickmayer, who had to qualify, has been up and down in matches. She’s a streaky player and could test Henin but I like Henin in three here.
Nadia Petrova, who isn’t getting enough credit for her stellar play against Kim Clijsters, takes on fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova. Both players are not known for their mental focus and if it gets tight expect a lot of errors and swearing in Russian. But Sveta leads 5-1 lifetime and, when there’s no expectations on her, she plays her best. Sveta in two.
Finally, speaking of no expectations, Dinara Safina has been quietly making her through the draw. She meets up against Maria Kirilenko who is having a nice run after her first round win over Maria Sharapova. They haven’t played each other in awhile but I like Safina to get through. With all the talk about Henin and Serena, Safina can relax and play her game. If she can stay that way, she might just end up taking the whole thing.
Check out my video thoughts below.
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