Wow, today was a wild day, wasn’t it? Here are some thoughts on what I saw:
Cilic v. Simon: I did not watch the whole thing. But this Simon dude is feeling it, big time. He said this after his victory today: “Right now it’s difficult to walk. But like usual, with a good massage and some stretching and a good rest, tomorrow I’ll be a new guy. Nicolas [Kiefer, semifinal opponent] is a good player. . .I just hope that we are going to play a great match with a great fight. Even if I die on the court, I just give the maximum tomorrow.” Allez, Gilles!
Blake v. Kiefer: I did not catch this one, but was really surprised at the scoreline – 6-1, 6-2. Kiefer? There’s something off with Blake this year – don’t know quite what it is – but he’s gotta shake himself out of it. Perhaps a visit to commenter Pamala Knight’s Karaoke and Slip ‘n’ Slide retreat would do the trick?
Murray v. Djokovic: I loved this match, even though it made my attempt at pick ‘ems look foolish and naive. It was thrilling to watch Andy Murray stay aggressive, focused and positive for an entire match. It was straight sets, but it was still exciting – I kept waiting for Novak to pull out that second set. Andy got over a huge hump tonight with an intimidating win over a guy who’s owned him – but he’ll have to do it all over again against Nadal, who also dominates the Scot 4 to 0. I’d say that’s impossible, but stranger things have happened this week, haven’t they?
Nadal v. Gasquet: Yes, I know it’s a tennis nerd cliche, but I just adore watching Richard play his game. It’s especially fun when he’s playing well against someone like Nadal, who has such a contrasting style of play. Richard might have world class talent, but he’s on the Challenger circuit compared to Nadal’s physical and mental game. I just don’t see Rafa losing this tournament.
Oh, by the way, the women are playing, too – in Carson, California at the East West Bank Classic. And tomorrow I’ll be there, hopefully blogging on my husband’s IPhone while I watch Jelena Jankovic and Dinara Safina battle it out in the semifinals. It should be a hard fought match – both had decisive quarterfinal wins over tough opponents (Jelena beat Petrova and Dinara took out Azarenka.) And there will be fireworks, too!
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