Wednesday, July 06, 2016

Top down! Gentleman's quarterfinals at Wimbledon

Yeah, we'll do that. But how about those ladies quarterfinals? There's still that thing we'll speak not of. But you know what I mean. We'll discuss that thing we'll speak not of on Friday. Or not.
So, without Novak Djokovic in the draw, there is some potential for some things to happen. Let's consider those things:

1. Sam Querrey could win Wimbledon. Yeah. If he can be Milos Raonic, yeah. They face off in the quarters tomorrow. The temptation is to pick the guy who beat Djokovic, but, Raonic came down from two sets down against David "Pocket Rocket" Goffin to advance in the previous round. There are things about Raonic that make me not want to take him seriously -- his hair, that Koozie -- but his game is starting to emerge as multidimensional, which makes me think that Kooz, er, Raonic, is more likely to win that match.
2. Roger Federer could win Wimbledon. He can! Right?! Right!?? Then why is everyone talking about Andy Murray? Oh, right. Because Murray's a Brit. But Federer could totally take down Marin Cilic and advance. Yes, Cilic has had some major success against Federer, but there's no one left in the draw who has won Wimbledon more than anyone else remaining in the draw. Now, we start pooling coach trophies (McEnroe, Becker, etc.) and then we can start catching up.
3. Tomas Berdych v. this French guy: named Lucas Pouille. Because I am not currently on the grounds at Wimbledon, I am not familiar with Pouille because I rely on American television. I probably blinked and missed the two-shot highlight of Pouille beating Juan Martin del Potro, who beat Stan Wawrinka. You maybe heard of some of one of those guys. He also beat Bernard Tomic, who has skills, despite, well, everything else. I guess I say all of that to say that this match right here could be fun.
4. Murray v. Jo-Willie Tsonga!: This has the feeling of a heavyweight fight. It's not Tsonga Murray will be fighting here. It's the expectations of his country (which he has overcome before) as they expect him to step up in Djokovic's stead. But Tsonga's playing well here so far. He played some gritty tennis against John Isner, who is perfectly willing to play on grass 23/7 (time for potty and nap) at Wimbledon, serving up ace after ace. Plus, he played six games to advance to the quarters, due to Kei Nishikori's injury. Advantage: Tsonga? I think maybe. Sorry, Britain!

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