Mens' 4th round preview

Well, with the exception of Djokovic v Haas, just about every 4th round match has a player you would not have expected to get that far. From this stage I would expect less shocks than before and some of the lesser ranked players left in draw to run out of steam. What are everyone's thoughts on the following:

Djokovic v Haas - mentioned elsewhere in a couple of other threads. Plenty of interest around this match given Haas' great form this year and when he beat Djoko earlier this year at Indian Wells (or was it Miami). I watched Haas v Lopez on TV today and was struck by how much Haas was staying at the baseline - obviously a wise tactic against Lopez but I don't see it working so well against Djokovic. I'd love to see the upset in this match but looking at how solid Djokovic is, I can see the Serb dropping no more than a set.

Tomic v Berdych - Tomic is once again playing with confidence and a better attitude. He's got a good game for grass and I was impressed with how he closed out the match against Gasquet. Berdych is a step up though and although this will be a competitive match I think Berdych will have too much for the young Aussie - Berdych in 4 sets.

Ferrer v Dodig - Ferrer is working hard to get through the draw - showing real grit. He's got another tough match against Dodig, who's playing very well. I think this one could also go to 5 sets (or possibly 4 tight sets) but I think Ferrer can squeak through this one too.

Seppi v Del Potro - Seppi is under-rated by many - he's a decent player and is good on grass - I'm not particularly surprised at seeing him in 4th round. Del Potro meanwhile still seems to doubt his abilities on the surface despite the Olympic Bronze medal last year. Seppi has come through some tougher matches though (last round, 5 setter with Nishikori) which will catch up with him - Del Potro is fresher and will prevail in 4 sets.

Kubot v Mannarino - Got to admit I know very little about Mannarino, other than that he's spent most of his career on Challenger circuit. Not wishing to be harsh he's had a couple of lucky breaks along the way - with Isner pulling out of their match early on. Kubot is a doubles specialist, and comfortable coming to the net. I'd go for the Pole here, in 3 sets - surely this will be a round too far for the Frenchman.

Janowicz v Melzer - Interesting match - up and coming player against established older player - just the sort of match a player like Janowicz needs to win on his way up the rankings. Janowicz didn't do well in the pre-Wimbledon grass-court warm-ups but has grown in confidence with each match. Melzer is a more tactically astute opponent than Almagro was and could take a set off his opponent, but I see Janowicz winning in 4 sets, having too much firepower.

Verdasco v De Schepper - Don't know too much about Monsieur De Schepper - looking at the stats for his matches he does like to go to the net. Like Mannarino, De Schepper has been the beneficiary of a player pulling out with injury - in this case Cilic. Verdasco is a bit of a forgotten man - had a bit of a slump last year or 2, but he's having a good run here this year. Tough to break on grass, De Schepper will need to serve well and come out on top in the tie-breaks. Considering he's pretty inexperienced at this level, I don't see that happening. Verdasco in straight sets.

Youzhny v Murray - Youzhny is an entertaining player to watch with some nice variety in his game. However he can be pretty inconsistent and although he could trouble Murray I really can't see him sustaining that over a match. Murray in 4 sets, but it will be fairly competitive - will be a good test for Murray ahead of tougher matches to follow.

Mannarino played Federer on Grass, IIRC (W 2011). I watched his match today versus Brown. He played some pretty good shots, including some net guile. He may surprise Kubot.

Janowicz can get frustrated against a old veteran quickly. Melzer likes the pace on Grass and has a reasonable record on Grass (W/L 32/30) and has some good doubles (with Petzschner) and may be able to handle Janowicz. The Melzer return would be crucial, based on the serving display from Janowicz against Almagro.

If Dodig plays S&V which he is quite capable of (reference is the match v Nadal). He can cause problems for Ferrer. I am surprised that Dolgopolov threw away his 2-1 set lead against Ferrer and played the fourth and fifth sets pretty badly.

Djokovic was scary v Chardy today, but Haas has much more experience and this would be a nice match.

Deschepper at 6'8" can serve well (like Janowicz) but I expect Forehando Verdasco to come through.

Great post Mr. Invisible, very thorough breakdown on the match ups in the round of 16. Janowicz v. Melzer can be a tricky affair for Jerzy, if he gets through this round he could run all the way to the semi. The next semi that I find really interesting and juicy is the berdy v. Tomy match up. A nice difference in style between the two players, berdych is all power and straight line tennis while Tomic likes to change speeds and dink and dunk. I think Berdych will overwhelm him with raw power and his serve. But Bernie likes playing on this surface and it suits his game. I see JJ and Melz going 4 and Berdych v. Tomic going 4 as well and being very entertaining. JJ and Berdy to go through.

Still a couple of potential upsets in the cards:
- Tomic has what it takes to beat Berdych in straight sets even. He has more variety in his game and can always rely on a big serve. Cant ser berdych taling bernard serve easily and think tomic has much improved in terms of consistency
- haas or youhzny stand no chance, on a normal day that is. To believe the contrary borders on lunacy.
- Kubot has more pedigree but mannarino would be my dark horse as he's really an unknown quantity. He had to make some big changes on his forehand in the last 2 years following some rather serious injury so diifficult to judge him from last years performance. That said he can very easily end up being bagelled.
- JJ vs Melzer is an interesting match up and would tend to go for Melzer on the basis of experience on grass at this level although am not convinced he can handle the pole serve. Potential 5 setter.
- Verdasco all the way. Expect some breadsticks here and there.
- del potro should have too much power for Seppi and let's hope that Dodig can be Ferrer's own Darcis.