Shanghai Crisis Center, Day 7

Good morning. It's semifinals day in Shanghai. It seems unlikely that anything that happens today could surpass the drama of yesterday's match between Andy Murray and Roger Federer; however, both semifinals are potentially tough matchups. First Novak Djokovic plays Gilles Simon, and later Andy Murray faces Nikolay Davydenko.

Djokovic lost his only match with Gilles Simon, which occurred earlier this year in Marseille, in the round of 16. Djokovic was suffering from the after-effects of flu that week, though still managing to take the match to a deciding set. Simon has been something of a giant-killer during 2008, and he's certainly capable of pulling an upset here.

The head-to-head between Murray and Davydenko is 3-3. Last year and early this year Murray racked up three straight-sets victories over Davydenko, but in Dubai, after defeating Federer in the first round, Murray succumbed to Davydenko in a quarterfinal that wasn't of particularly high quality on either side of the net.

Please use this post to comment on the day's matches, and any other tennis-related items. After the matches are over for the day, some mild off-topic drift is acceptable.

As always, enjoy the tennis.

-- Rosangel Valenti