Nadal - Federer final still on track at Wimbledon
June 29, 2008
Are you new here? you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for your visit!
After day 6 action at Wimbledon the odds are still looking good for a Roger Federer versus Rafael Nadal final.
Nadal completed a straight sets win over Germany’s Nicolas Kiefer 7-6(3), 6-2, 6-3. That was a good win for the Spaniard as Kiefer can be a tricky opponent on grass.
Nadal will play Mikhail Youzhny in the next round. The Russian was taken to five sets by Radek Stepanek but came through 6-3 in the fifth. Youzhny the 17th seed will test Nadal although he has never made it past the fourth round.
If Nadal does get past the Russian he will have either Andy Murray or Richard Gasquet to contend with in the quarterfinals. Gasquet of course made the semifinals in 2007. Whoever it is that advances will be hard to beat for Nadal.
On the other side of the draw we see Roger Federer in the fourth round against the last man to hold up the Wimbledon trophy before Federer made it his own. The 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt. This will be a tough match for Federer as Hewitt is playing well at the 2008 Wimbledon event and is keen to finally beat Federer in a grand slam. He has lost the past five times the pair have met in a grand slam.
Federer has also defeated Hewitt 11 straight times in their head to head. The overall head to head record is 13-7 to Federer. The last time Hewitt defeated the world no. 1 was in their memorable Davis Cup semifinal in 2003.
I am hoping for an upset win by Hewitt but form dictates that Federer will take his win streak over Hewitt to 12.
Marat Safin still looms as a danger man in Federer’s half of the draw. He next plays Stanislas Wawrinka. The Swiss no. 2 player in reaching the fourth round has achieved his best ever result at Wimbledon. Safin if he can play at the top of his game should beat the 13th seed.
Mario Ancic and Baghdatis would also need to be kept in check for Federer to make the final.
Exciting times are ahead for week 2 at Wimbledon. As is tradition for Wimbledon the middle Sunday is a rest day so no play will take place.
Who is your tip to win the 2008 title?
Comments
Got something to say?
