It looks like only one favorite emerged unscathed. Andy Murray was the first to go losing to the powerful Czech, Tomas Berdych. Novak Djokovic had already withdrawn at the start of the day giving Jo-Wilfried Tsonga the day off and a relaxed route into the semifinals. Then, in the last match of the day, David
Novak Djokovic looked a bit shaky in his win against Viktor Troicki. However, he came on strong at the end and won 6-1. Djokovic had mentioned in interviews that his shoulder would be fine, even if it wasn't great, but perhaps money was on his mind. Had Djokovic not played Paris, he would have lost
Last week, in Basel, Djokovic called a trainer out early in the second set in his semifinal match against Nishikori. He asked for his shoulder to be attended to. With this turn of events, Nishikori found himself in more rallies. Even so, Djokovic had his chances to take the second set and the match. However,
Playing Roger Federer for the first time can be daunting, especially after Federer has taken off some six weeks to recover and to train. Roger Federer found himself in the same scenario as last year, or possibly even worse. Last year, Federer had won only one Slam and lost early at the French and Wimbledon.
If you looked at the semifinal lineup at Valencia (which the announcers have taken to calling "Valenthia" to imitate the lisp that Spaniards have), you would have seen del Potro vs. Granollers and Ferrer vs. Monaco. Granollers is ranked 34 in the world, and he's the fifth ranked Spaniard behind Nadal, Almagro, Lopez, and Verdasco.
When Pete Sampras was playing Andre Agassi, he seemed to have supreme confidence. No matter how well Agassi had been playing or how poorly Sampras had played, if the two met, Sampras believed his serve and his groundies could bother Agassi. Agassi would think he could play with Sampras but he'd lose a few points
Roger Federer has come to an age where, in the rare circumstances he plays someone his age, he's generally overwhelmingly favored. After all, Roger Federer is 30 years old, the age that many tennis players begin to fade. And even if Federer hasn't faded much, his competition has. Indeed, many of Federer's rivals reads like
Of all the personalities, Novak Djokovic is the one who has most embraced his fame. Rafael Nadal does his duty, but you get the sense he's shy and prefers a quiet time. Roger Federer is friendly, but aloof. Andy Murray is moody and when he isn't, he seems kinda dull. Djokovic likes being Djokovic, and
Andy Murray probably knows the math. He's got a good head-to-head over Federer. Djokovic has been practicing and looks ready to continue his winning streak. With Murray entering Basel as a wildcard, he's hoping that Federer loses in the semifinals and that Murray himself reaches the semifinals. At the very least, he wants to keep
When all is said and done, it's not clear just how long Federer will maintain the crown "greatest of all time", but he's about to reach a milestone that he's not looking forward to. Federer's credentials for GOAT (greatest of all times) lies primarily with his 16 Slam wins. Of course, there's more to it
