CCC: Saturday

By TW Contributing Editor, Ed McGrogan

In last night’s quarterfinal matches, three of the four participants played great tennis in front of a sold out Centre Court.  A big surprise was the one who didn’t – Novak Djokovic. 

The Serb’s shortcomings last night were perplexing, since Djokovic had the most rest since Wimbledon, and plays his best on hard courts.  His recent achievements on pavement include championships at the Australian Open and Indian Wells, and he also won last year’s Rogers Cup.  But he didn’t play like this dominant force on Friday against Andy Murray, losing 6-3, 7-6.  Djokovic’s unforced error count was unusually high, and he never developed a rhythm aside from a three-game stretch in the second set (when he erased a 4-2 Murray lead).  He did not look like he was having fun out there.

Murray, for his part, looked exceptional on court.  His serve was booming, touching 220 kph on the gun at times.  But it was his play during rallies was most impressive.  Djokovic hit few clean winners against Murray because the scampering Scot ran down nearly every ball, always forcing Novak to hit one more.

Murray’s superb defense was anchored by his backhand, which never wilted under pressure.  It’s a very compact stroke that works well on a surface with a predictable bounce.  Andy quickly got into a groove with the robotic shot, deflecting Djokovic’s shots back like a rebounding wall.

After seeing this shot’s effectiveness, it reminded me of someone else's backhand.  Then it hit me – the backhand of Gilles Simon, a fellow Toronto semifinalist.  Simon’s backhand was similarly useful against Roger Federer – it rarely won points, but it forced Federer into many errors.  If the two should meet in the final, I would suggest that they stay away from hitting to the backhand side.

The second match of the evening featured Richard Gasquet against Rafael Nadal.  Gasquet played great in the first set, winning a marathon tiebreaker 14-12.

I watched Gasquet’s third round match against David Ferrer the night earlier on Grandstand, where the Frenchman overwhelmed Ferrer with his forehand and serve.  The backhand certainly did its damage, but Gasquet struck these other shots with just as much force.  He smartly tried to do the same against Nadal – keeping rallies short was critical if he was to succeed.

After both men broke serve twice, they headed to a tiebreaker in the opening set.  Gasquet played courageously at this juncture, fending off two Nadal set points and staying headstrong despite losing five set points of his own.  Finally, on the sixth set point, Gasquet won the set with, appropriately enough, a forehand strike (after many backhands found the net).  [To read more about this tiebreak, click here for Kamakshi's in-depth review.] But that was the last great tennis we’d see from Richard.

The evening’s proceedings concluded with Nadal steamrolling Gasquet in the final two sets, 6-2, 6-1.  I hadn’t yet seen Nadal play in person so far this week, so I made an effort to watch him closely.  Sitting courtside helped.

The greatest compliment that I can give Nadal is that he doesn’t just play every game, or even every point, with unrivaled intensity – he does so every shot.  No matter what kind of shot Nadal must hit, he shows the same determination every time, and the results speak for themselves.  It’s the simplest explanation I can give for why he rarely ever misses.

Leading 5-1 in the third set, Nadal was ready to serve out the match.  I know I’m not going out on a limb here, but I’ve never been surer of a game’s result than I was at that moment.  He indeed closed out the match with ease, but still treated each point as if it was his last.  I’d be shocked if Nadal loses this weekend.

On schedule today: Gilles Simon vs. Nicolas Kiefer at 3 p.m.  Andrew Burton will review that match here later on.  I’ll tackle Nadal’s match with Murray in the nighttime (7 p.m.).

One of the crack radio reporters in the pressroom repeatedly referred to James Blake as “Jason Blake,” a forward for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL.

More Canadian humour: In my dormitory (which has now been infiltrated with teenagers), there is a sign that says “STAIRS” on the door.  The “T” and “I” have been darkened out to leave “SARS” – a respiratory disease that had roots in the Toronto area about five years ago.