Wimbledon '09 QF: Of Tommy Haas and Andy Roddick, Roger Federer and Andy Murray

The green cover at the Center Court is starting to bald up, leaving big brown patches in between—an indication that Wimbledon is heading into its final phase with the four Men’s Quarter Finals completing on Day Nine.

It is on days like this, when you wish Wimbledon could do better scheduling of its matches, perhaps by not taking the traditional Sunday off. The quarterfinals were scheduled back-to-back on the Center Court and Court No. 1. This is why it was inevitable that a fan would have to miss a good part of two showdowns.

All England Lawn Tennis Club, here is where we would like you to improve in 2010!

 

Center Court—Cruising Champion and Local Hero

The day began with a highly anticipated contest between the virtual top seed Roger Federer and the "Doctor of Aces," Ivo Karlovic. The Croat had played a dream tournament so far, dispatching two top-10 players on his way to his first Grand Slam Quarterfinal. It was predicted that the Swiss Master would face a tough task ahead.

However, the five-time Wimbledon champion proved once again why he boasts a ridiculously one-sided record against huge servers.

Roger’s return of serves is a highly underrated weapon, especially against fast, flat servers. He thrives on his superlative anticipation skills on opponent’s serves. He can afford to stand on the baseline to negate the high bounce and acute angles of these PPP (as Rob calls them), more so against Karlovic.

Of course, there were times when Roger was flat footed. There were also times when he was left stranded on ground—Karlovic did serve 23 aces in the match—but all he needed was one break of serve in a set. In fact, he did this with some outrageous return winners in the fifth game of the first set, breaking Dr. Ivo for the first time in the tournament.

He repeated it once more in the second set with an equally brilliant return game. Although the third set went to a tie-breaker, Federer never looked in any trouble as he closed out the match in straight sets—6-3, 7-5, 7-6—to extend his semifinal streak to an astonishing 21 consecutive times.

The Henman Hill was packed for the forthcoming match, as Andy Murray carried his “adopted” nation’s hopes of giving them their first Grand Slam Champion since Fred Perry. He reached his first Wimbledon semifinal in straight sets over the resurgent Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Murray started sluggishly for the first few games, but played like a Grand Slam Champion to outclass and out think the former French Open Champion in a one-sided quarterfinal.

John McEnroe never shies to call the Scot as the best returner of serve in modern era, and the latter displayed his full range of shots against the helpless Spaniard. Ferrero’s first serves were frequently being pressurized by immaculate improvisation, while the second serves were being murdered for outright winners.

Supported by his sublime serving—much improved from his previous round—Murray compensated his long match against Wawrinka with a quick and painless straight sets victory with 7-5, 6-3, 6-2.

His major cause of concern, though, is his second serve, which looks very vulnerable. He should face Federer in the final—both of whom seem to be the favorite—who would like to get his first serve percentage as high as possible.

 

Court No. 1—Ageing Veterans

While the Center Court was busy cheering their favorite champion and local hero, more exciting contests were being played on Court No. 1.

In the first match, Germany's Tommy Haas proved that his title at Halle was no fluke. The spirited Haas disappointed the No. 4 ranked Novak Djokovic once again to march through to his first Grand Slam semifinal in four sets—7-5, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3.

The veteran made us relive the now endangered art of the '90s by showing some classic "serve-n-volley" tennis consistently for four sets. He was confident during serves—with 69 percent first serves and 18 aces—and aggressive during returns, as

Djokovic struggled with his serves. Overall, he committed seven doubles faults.

Once Haas took control of the match by winning the first two sets, the Serb lost his cool, as he yelled in frustration towards his camp—who later left the stadium. He needs to show the same spirit that defines multiple Grand Slam champions the same spirit he showed at Madrid.

Nole’s shoulders started to droop, and his body language started to falter. However, he still showed some fight as Haas fell uncharacteristically in the third set, showing his usual "choking" tendencies. Not to be undone by his previous disappointments, Haas regrouped in time to take back the fourth set and continue his dream run at Grand Slams in 2009.

He stretched the 14-time Grand Slam champion to five sets in Paris, and would be desperately looking to show some "Hollywood" magic on Friday against the same man he almost upset at the French Open, albeit on grass this time.

The match of the day—and possibly of the tournament—was between the former world No. 1's and familiar rivals. Hewitt and Roddick would square off towards the end of the day on Court One.

It was always going to be a thriller, with a classic match up between serves and returns. However, both warriors pushed their game to their limit, as Roddick showed inspirational ground strokes and courageous returns, while Hewitt didn’t shy away from firing aces at Roddick as well.

It was electrifying tennis right from the onset, as the semi-veterans were prepared to end the point quickly on their serve, and wait patiently to construct a point during returns.

Roddick—under the demanding eyes of Larry Stefanki—looked to be a much improved player, as he was creating angles on backhands for some breathtaking passing shots. He made Hewitt bend low with tremendous spin on the slice backhand, while pulling off unimaginable half volleys near the service line. Most importantly, though, he put Hewitt under tremendous pressure on his service games.

Hewitt, in turn, was acing his way on countless break points, showing the same street fighter spirit that you associate him with.

The match toppled and turned from one player to the other, as numerous breaks of serves were exchanged in every set. Roddick managed to get that extra break in the final set to get to his second Grand Slam semis of the year.

Hewitt too would be feeling good with a satisfying run in a Grand Slam after initial disappointments during the year. His rankings will receive a definite boost after Wimbledon, which will help him receive easier draws in the upcoming tournaments and the US Open.