It seems as if the US Open only just got started, but believe it or not we’re on to Day 10, and in the men’s draw that means Wednesday is Quarterfinals Day. Let’s take a look at each of the 4 match ups heading into what looks like an outstanding day of tennis.
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Mikhail Youzhny (21)
On Tuesday, Mikhail Youzhny won a dramatic 5-set thriller in Louis Armstrong Stadium against the surprising Lleyton Hewitt. After having dispatched Juan Martin del Potro, Hewitt had gotten on a role, and was suddenly starting to look like a real threat in the field before falling to Youzhny. This will be Djokovic’s first real challenge of any kind in the event, but given his breezy 4th round win over Marcel Granollers, Djokovic should be the fresher competitor, and that makes him an overwhelming favorite to advance. If you need proof of the expectations, take a look at Betfair news, where Djokovic is given 1/14 odds to win the match (meaning you’d need to risk $14 to win just $1 betting on the #1 seed).
Our pick: Djokovic in 4 sets.
Andy Murray (3) vs. Stanislas Wawrinka (9)
Andy Murray has not quite looked himself in this Open. In dropping a 3rd set to Leonardo Mayer in his 2nd round match, Murray seemed distraught and unfocused. He dispatched Florian Mayer easily enough in the 3rd round, but struggled mightily to put away Denis Istomin in round 4, ultimately prevailing in a grueling 4th set. Wawrinka has had to work to get this far, taking down the always dangerous Marcos Baghdatis in 4 fantastic sets in the 3rd round and defeating 5th seeded Tomas Berdych with surprising ease on Tuesday. This could well be the best match we see on Wednesday, and could be the best chance at an upset.
Our pick: Wawrinka in 5 sets.
Richard Gasquet (8) vs. David Ferrer (4)
Talk about two guys who can go the distance. In a predictably scrappy 4th round match on Monday, David Ferrer slipped past Janko Tipsarevic in 4 sets, and laster that night Richard Gasquet played arguably the tightest match of the tournament against up-and-comer Milos Raonic, the 10th seed. Gasquet and Ferrer are both battle-tested, both scrappy, and both determined. This should be a very gritty tennis match.
Our pick: Ferrer in 5 sets.
Tommy Robredo (19) vs. Rafael Nadal (2)
For a 19 seed, Tommy Robredo is an unknown in Quarterfinal territory. This is a player sponsored not by Nike or Adidas, but by Erke. He’s making his first US Open Quarterfinal appearance at 31 years old, and he just beat Roger Federer for the first time in 11 career tries. Really, it’s quite a story that he’s made it to this point. That said, Rafa Nadal is playing absolutely dominant hard court tennis, and despite Robredo’s brilliant play of late, Nadal is a heavy betting favorite.
Our pick: Nadal in 3 sets.
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