Australian Open 2018 - Day 9 & 10 - I need some Halep to find a decent Tennys streaming site

Onto the quarter-finals, the men's line-up consisting of 5 players we'd expect to reach the last 8 and 3 surprises, and the womens' has a strong looking line-up in top-half with a couple of surprises in the lower half.

Womens quarter-finals:

Halep vs Pliskova
Kerber vs Keys
Svitolina vs Mertens
Suarez Navarro vs Wozniacki

Mens quarter-finals:

Nadal vs Cilic
Dimitrov vs Edmund
Chung vs Sandgren
Federer vs Berdych

On the women's whilst I like Halep and have enjoyed her run through the tournament I think Pliskova will prove bit too strong for her.  I think Kerber vs Keys will go to 3 sets, with the German prevailing, and in the bottom half I think Svitolina and Wozniacki will win their matches pretty comfortably.

Onto the mens', its worth looking at how our quarter-finalists have reached the last 8:

Nadal has arguably had the easiest draw (as we should expect for a world no. 1 from time to time), although the often under-estimated Schwartzman proved no pushover in the 4th round.
Cilic has played a couple of tricky opponents, Pospisil in 1st round, the in-form Harrison in 3rd round and tough competitor Carreno Busta in 4th round.
Dimitrov started with a nice easy 1st round match, but then hand to fend off in-form qualifier Macdonald, then fast improving Rublev before the bruising encounter with Kyrgios in 4th round - quite a tough draw thus far.
Edmund started with the big win over Anderson which really opened up things for him.  That said, its not been plain sailing since then - he had a 2nd round encounter with Istomin (who beat Djokovic last year), the epic 5 setter in the heat against Basilashvili and then a hard-fought win over the v solid Seppi.
Next we have Mr Tennys himself, Sandgren, arguably something of a journeyman with no slam match wins before this tournament.  However, whilst he did have a slice of fortune in playing a far from fit Wawrinka, he did beat Chardy in the 1st round and had to see off world top 5 Thiem in 4th round - yes, he's had his luck but Sandgren's run is no fluke.
Chung I would argue is also a contender for toughest draw to contend with despite an unfinished match against Mischa Zverev who retired in 1st round,  as he then beat up and coming young Russian Medvedev, Alex Zverev in a 5 setter and of course Djokovic in the 4th round.
Berdych - every slam tournament you always get one player quietly and effectively working their way through the draw, and Berdych has been doing that this tournament.  Another quarter-finalist with a tough draw, he's dispatched 'next big thing' De Minaur, then Garcia Lopez, Del Potro and Fognini with a minimum of fuss - best form he's been in for a little while.
Federer - bit of a contrast to last year's tough sequence of opponents, he's faced Bedene, Struff, Gasquet and Fucsovics, the sort of line-up he'd expect at Halle or Basel rather than in a slam, but its the sort of a draw a no. 2 seeded player would expect from time to time.

Onto the matches, on paper Cilic has the sort of game that poses problems for Nadal - hard flat groundstrokes and an effective backhand down the line.  However the head to head is 5-1 in Nadal's favour and Cilic has only won 1 set over the past 5 matches they've played.  Cilic is in good form and should pose a stern test, but I'm going for Nadal in 5 sets.  
Dimitrov vs Edmund - clearly Edmund is in great form, serving well, moving well, hitting lots of those big crunching forehands and winning some clutch points.  However, Dimitrov, with his variety, slices and net forays will pose a v different challenge, and whilst I think Edmund will give him a scare early on, I see Dimitrov winning that one in 4 competitive sets.
Chung vs Sandgren - the young Korean will have to deal with the pressure and expectation, but I think Sandgren will run out of steam here - Chung to win in 4 sets.
Berdych vs Federer - I think this one will be a bit different to last year - Berdych is in great form and Federer's not been properly tested yet - I'm going for Federer in 5 sets here.

What a win for Edmund!

Happy to lose my sleep, watching Kyle Edmund earn a most impressive win against World No. 3 Dimitrov, and marching into the semi-finals ....... to everyone’s amazement.

He actually looks as though he totally belongs at this level.

Huge, huge congratulations on such a great run so far

Fabulous win for Edmund. Fabulous.

Pre-match I gave him a decent chance as Dimi I still see as flaky. That is to take nothing away from Kyle as he now joins an exclusive club of British men to have reached a slam semi-final. Take a bow Kyle.

PS I can't comment on how it went as I followed the scores online.

Didn't see the match but woke up to the news that: Edmund beats Dimitrov 6-4 3-6 6-3 6-4 to reach semi-finals.

Over the past ten years Britain has had a number of top boys juniors, some reaching world no 1 (in the junior ranking) some winning junior grand slams, some reaching junior grand slam finals.  Of all that promise it was only Kyle Edmund that some suggested had a chance of reaching the top 50 in the men's game and possibly better.  

With the decline of the top order now is the chance for a different generation to make the step up.  Hopefully Edmund will be one of them.

CaledonianCraig wrote:Fabulous win for Edmund. Fabulous.

.....................................

PS I can't comment on how it went as I followed the scores online.

Well CC please be assured that this was a thoroughly professional, richly-deserved win !

Sure, there were a number of breaks of serve (both ways) which perhaps ‘shouldn’t’ have happened ; but the overall quality of play was very high. Dimitrov impressed with some truly amazing defensive skills, and battled hard throughout.

This victory didn’t come easy and was fully earned, not conceded.

For those that don't mind betting on matches I would say this year and maybe next year will be a good time to bet on upsets - because the odds are probably reflected on past results, whereas the top players are either in decline, have injury doubts, or are just not tested at this level - apart from the old guard few of the others including Dimitrov know what it is like to win matches towards the end of a grand slam tournament.

Nice news to wake up to in cold, dark Britain. Thought Edmund might have a chance but reckoned Dimi would prevail. By all accounts, Dimi was not at his best but full marks to Kyle.
  I pondered yesterday whether Edmund might take heart from other surprise results in Melbourne. For Dimi this is a disappointing defeat. If you look at some of his losses last season you will find he went down to guys he should have beaten easily.
   In the women's, Mertens dispatch of Svitolina can go down as another shock. Can Caroline W take advantage?

lags72 wrote:

CaledonianCraig wrote:Fabulous win for Edmund. Fabulous.

.....................................

PS I can't comment on how it went as I followed the scores online.

Well CC please be assured that this was a thoroughly professional, richly-deserved win !

Sure, there were a number of breaks of serve (both ways) which perhaps ‘shouldn’t’ have happened ; but the overall quality of play was very high. Dimitrov impressed with some truly amazing defensive skills, and battled hard throughout.

This victory didn’t come easy and was fully earned, not conceded.

Cheers lags. Great to hear that.

It would sound very much that he has improved in all areas which he needed to do. Now with a slam semi to his name and some notable scalps along the way confidence and self-belief should also be at an all-time high as is his ranking. Really good to see.

Nadal/Cilic enteres a fifth set (6-3 3-6 7-6 2-6 0-2)

Nadal retires injured

Cilic v Edmund

Surprised at Nadal's retirement, but he has been carrying injuries.

Phenomenal display of attacking brilliance by Edmund. Fully deserved. What a breakthrough for him this year.

Didn’t see the Nadal game, but very sad that he had to retire owing to injury.

Plenty of tennis to be played yet but would Federer go to world number one if he wins from here?

Very sad for Rafa, and sad for tennis with so many great players either not starting the tournament or unable to complete it. Not good at all.

theslosty wrote:Plenty of tennis to be played yet but would Federer go to world number one if he wins from here?

No. Rafa ensured he would stay number one by reaching the quarters. Great pity it ended as it did for him today but I gather Cilic played well and it was a big struggle. Sure Kyle would have preferred to face Cilic rather than Nadal. Extra pressure on Rog, now, with a clear path to the trophy. Just wonder if Berdych will surprise us all tomorrow.

JuliusHMarx wrote:Very sad for Rafa, and sad for tennis with so many great players either not starting the tournament or unable to complete it. Not good at all.

Not totally surprised the Men's game has fallen away sharply, especially given the absentees, and the elite performers paying the price for their longevity, and the subsequent physical demise. It's a bit of a mess really, and a shame for the game. Gives others opportunity, but the likelihood now, is that Roger takes this, like he did at Wimbledon last year.

I really thought Rafa would win this year. Means that no one in the Open Era has won each of the Slams TWICE. With Rog unlikely to play RG, the nearest to it - apart from Rafa - is Djoko, who would have to win the French again.
   Murray had better hurry up and return to action as it looks as if Djoko and Rafa are going to be suffering over the next few weeks. The relentlessness of this trio over many years has resulted in a huge number of matches played at a great tempo - but at a cost to all their bodies.

my sympathy for Nadal is tempered by the fact that in some respects he brought it on himself with his scheduling. he played piddly little tornaments towards the end of last year just to secure his YE no 1. no doubt that is a good to have but slam titles are more important. we can write the script for the next few months. he will go all out on clay and probably win the French. and then struggle the rest of the year.

Rankings watch:

Edmund's SF would currently have him at number 26. Should he lose the semi he could be overtaken by Nishikori if he wins Delray Beach and Chung or Sandgren if they were to make the final here, so at the very worst he'll be ranked 28 after the tournament.

If he wins the semi he'd move up to 19th, or 20th if Chung or Sandgren were to win the tournament. That would actually move him ahead of one Andy Murray, which would be the first time in over 10 years that Andy isn't the number one ranked British player (not sure when exactly Murray overtook Henman, but won't have been later than 2007). Of course with Murray still out for a while Edmund will almost inevitably overtake him in the coming months anyway.

If Edmund wins the tournament he'll be in the top 10, 8th if Berdych loses to Federer, 9th otherwise.

For the other players:
- Fed stays at number 2 regardless (already discussed).
- Cilic moves to 3rd if he beats Edmund (can't go higher).
- Berdych moves up to 8th if he beats Fed, 7th if he makes the final (win or loss).
- Chung moves to 29th if he beats Sandgren, 21st if he makes the final (22nd if Edmund beats him in the final), 10th if he wins the tournament.
- Sandgren moves to 38th if he beats Chung, 25th if he makes the final (26th if Edmund beats him there), 12th if he wins the tournament (13th if Berdych beats Fed).

All calculations based on this site:
https://live-tennis.eu/en/atp-live-ranking
and there may be some mistakes, but that's the rough idea.

What a disaster for Dimitrov. He must have got through the Kyrgios match thinking Kyle Edmund in the QF, what a relief. I don't mean disrespect to Edmund but as QF opponents go that is about as winnable a match as you can get at this level.

The funny thing is nothing surprises me with Dimitrov anymore, he has huge potential and talent but he continues to fall apart just when you think he is making inroads. I know he won the World tour finals but let's be honest that was a tournament plagued with injuries to top players. You can only beat what it is in front of you but I thought he might kick on from there.

To get through the draw as well as he did, I just don't get how a player of his relative experience now could fall to an inferior player like Edmund. I have time for Edmund, he works hard and gives it his all on the court but as a player from what I have seen he is pretty limited. His serve is relatively inconsistent and his back hand to me looks very average. He does have a good powerful forehand but overall I would see him as a top 50 player, I don't see him as a top 20 or top 10 player. Maybe he will prove me wrong.

I just think this was a huge opportunity for Dimitrov to finally step up and to lose against an opponent ranked so far behind him is crazy.

We have also seen with Thiem, Zverev, Goffin that once again these younger players are coming up short at the slams. One step forward two steps back.

Cilic looked great against Nadal, when his game is on he is a really formidable opponent. I just wonder what Berdych will turn up now against Federer. I hope he makes a real match of it. I would like to see a Cilic vs Berdych final but it is hard to see him beating Federer

sirfredperry wrote:I really thought Rafa would win this year. Means that no one in the Open Era has won each of the Slams TWICE. With Rog unlikely to play RG, the nearest to it - apart from Rafa - is Djoko, who would have to win the French again.
   Murray had better hurry up and return to action as it looks as if Djoko and Rafa are going to be suffering over the next few weeks. The relentlessness of this trio over many years has resulted in a huge number of matches played at a great tempo - but at a cost to all their bodies.

Murray is out until the grass season at least SFP. We aren’t going to see any of the big 4 for some time now I suspect, although Fed will probably be back for IW.

I think that's a bit harsh on Edmund slasher. I think "His serve is relatively inconsistent and his back hand to me looks very average" was arguably true a year or even six months ago (though I would have said his BH was slightly better than that), but he's clearly worked very hard on his serve over the off season and gets much more out of it now. 13 aces yesterday and a first serve percentage in the mid to high 60's is an excellent return, and his stats have been fairly similar all tournament. He definitely uses his legs more, and that's clearly a huge help, so credit to his coaching team for that.

I also think his BH has made improvements, particularly the DL shot, which has become a proper weapon. Most importantly, he seems to have improved mentally, and is now playing the key moments much better (arguably why he won the match yesterday). He can certainly still improve, particularly the CC BH, which he uses almost exclusively as a rallying shot at the moment, but a good serve and huge FH can get you quite a long way in this game. If this is his new level rather than a rather golden fortnight where it clicked (including a fairly kind draw), then he should certainly be a mainstay in the top 20 in the future, and no reason he can't make top 10 IMO.

Having said that, it was an ordinary performance from Dimitrov, and I also thought after last year's WTF win he might really kick on. I watched little tennis at all last year, so can't comment, but don't see much improvement in his game since the last time I watched him properly TBH. I think the commentators said that was only his fourth slam QF! At 26, that's a pretty poor return.

Dimitrov looked poor all tournament bar the Kyrgios match. I’d also have agreed with you on Edmund Slasher at the end of last year. However, he’s clearly put a lot of work in over the off-season and his serve particularly is now a real strength. Will be interesting how he copes with the different night conditions though in the SF. Cilic clear favourite but I wouldn’t write Edmund off.

maybe I am being a touch harsh on Edmund but it is just my opinion that I don't think he looks a great player. I think his forehand is a weapon but overall there isn't much about his game that would excite me. I respect him for the work he has put in and I think he is one of those players that is getting the absolute max out of his game.

Only time will tell if this was just a flash in the pan or will he kick on and keep improving and become a frequent feature in the latter stages of slams. I have to admit I would never have seen this guy reach a slam semi final but rounds 2-4 he had a very handy draw.

More than anything I am just disappointed with Dimitrov. I thought he finally showed some steely resolve in some tough moments vs Kyrgios and that he might kick on from it. Then he throws in this absolute howler of a result.

I am starting to wonder about the mens game now. Even looking at Djokovic, the fact that he was able to reach round 4 with basically no serve says and no match practise says it all. I think I could serve faster than Djokovic at this moment in time and serve less double faults and yet he coasted all the way to round 4. Not only that but it took an inspired chung to scrape past him in each of those three sets, let's be honest Djokovic was playing woeful.

I just hope we see a different final this time around, really would like to see Cilic vs Berdych. They would have to change the balls after every game given how hard the two of those lads rip the ball!

You only have to look at the people Dimi lost to in 2017 to realise that, for all his ability, he is still far too inconsistent. Of course, he could still become a late-blossomer like Stan the Man and capture two or three GS in his late 20s/early30s. But with so many of the top names out, he really should be doing much better NOW.
   Edmund, to me, looks as if he's improved no end from last year. Although I think Cilic will beat him in the semi, Kyle would do well to remember two big matches when the Croatian was two sets up and lost - the 2016 Wimbledon quarter final with Fed and DC final against delpo.
   Caroline W came thru in three tonight, finishing at some unholy hour. Can she win her first Slam? Possibly. But my money's on Kerber.

Well done to Kyle Edmund. Hopefully whatever happens in the semi final he can use this to get into the top 20 in the next few months.

He has beaten the 2017 USO finalist in Round 1 which meant he couldn't play a top 16 players in rounds 2 and 3. Therefore he made his own luck if you want to call it that. He has now beaten the world number 3 and reigning Masters champion. Also in Brisbane he beat the much heralded Shapovalov and Chung (fellow Q/F player at AO) before losing a close 3 setter to Dimitrov. So he definitely seems to have up his game and if he can keep this level up can easily make top 20 at least.

I hear that Rafa has been complaining about the surfaces in use and citing that as the cause for the number of injuries. The cynics will probably say this is Rafa's annual call for more (all?!) matches to be played on clay.
   Doubt whether surfaces or schedules are likely to change any time soon. Up to the players to adapt their own schedules, techniques and bodies to the challenges they face.

coolpixel wrote:my sympathy for Nadal is tempered  by the fact that in some respects he brought it on himself with his scheduling.    he played piddly  little tornaments towards the  end of last year just to secure his YE no 1. no doubt that is a good to have but slam titles are more  important. we can write the script for the next few months. he will go all out on clay and probably win the French. and then struggle the rest of the year.  

Bit unfair on Nadal IMO. After the USO he played Beijing, Shanghai, pulled out of Basel, defaulted at Q/F stage in Paris and after one match at the O2. Only Beijing was less than a Masters 1000 level. Not sure which of these are classed as 'piddly little tournaments'.

Calder106 wrote:

coolpixel wrote:my sympathy for Nadal is tempered  by the fact that in some respects he brought it on himself with his scheduling.    he played piddly  little tornaments towards the  end of last year just to secure his YE no 1. no doubt that is a good to have but slam titles are more  important. we can write the script for the next few months. he will go all out on clay and probably win the French. and then struggle the rest of the year.  

Bit unfair on Nadal IMO. After the USO he played Beijing, Shanghai, pulled out of Basel, defaulted at Q/F stage in Paris and after one match at the O2. Only Beijing was less than a Masters 1000 level. Not sure which of these are classed as 'piddly little tournaments'.

I'd say that Beijing was the obvious 'piddly' one given the wider picture (his age, history of his knees, his problems on hard courts, closeness of slam tally race with Federer) and he should also have considered completely avoiding one of Paris or Shanghai given that that he was not obliged to play the Masters Series as far as I am aware (12 years on tour, aged 30 on 1st Jan, >600 matches).

Just seen some highlights of the Edmund match. Dimi looked a bit flat and his serving was poor. He looked as if he's used up all his best tennis, and energy, in the Kyrgios match.
   Kyle seems quite focused. He's not without hope against Cilic. Social media saying that Cilic could be the first palindromic winner at Melbourne since Seles. Always good to know these things.

A heck of a lot being made out of Rafa's comments - blown out of all proportion for me. These comments were extracted minutes after a painful exit from the Australian Open by journalists looking for a story. He was asked about injuries and his injury and attempted to answer it at a time when his mind was in an emotional mess. Not a good time to answer key questions.

Seems to me that Rafa is feeling rather sorry for himself right now, and in many ways that’s understandable. When you look forward so much to the start of a new season (and another crack at a Slam) it must be demotivating to find yourself ‘derailed’ so soon. It would obviously have been better for him to remain fit & healthy for the challenges to come  ... but specifically here at the AO, who can say that Cilic would not have beaten him anyway over five.....

That said, his post-match comments about the demands of the Tour - along with reference to hard surfaces - do come across to me as being a case of methinks he doth protest too much.

There is essentially nothing new about the Tour being a tough grind over the course of a full year and a good number of players, of both current & past generations, have consistently averaged more matches per season than Rafa during tne course of their careers. Yes, the ATP/ITF schedules should be reviewed regularly and changes made where sensible (eg the longer gap incorporated recently between RG and Wimbledon). However, there also comes a point where Rafa has to ask himself to what degree the issue is with himself rather than the sport’s calendar.

Clearly, other players happen to be affected too at the moment, for a variety of reasons. But I’m not convinced that we can draw the same conclusions as Rafa has sought to do - convenient though it is for him. My own view is that players will inevitably be more susceptible to injuries as they get older, and as the accumulated mileage takes its toll. In very simplistic terms, this is why top players have - albeit with some very notable exceptions in the past (think Agassi, Connors ....) largely tended to retire around the 30 mark. We know that Rafa would be fine if he just played for four or five months, all on clay, each year. But that’s only part of what the sport is about. A key element of the challenge presented by any elite level competition is the capacity of your body to stand up to the demands of performing consistently. His injuries come as a result of playing tennis, not from going fishing, and just because he has such a superb pedigree as a high achiever does not of itself mean that the nature of the sport should be changed to suit him.

There has been much talk in the last two/three years or so of players being able to have a longer career than those of the past. But history tells us that Slam wins after 30 have been the exception rather than the norm and perhaps Rafa just has to accept this. I don’t mean to say that he should call time on his career but I do think he might have to accept a more realistic expectation as to the growing level of impact that injury will have, for as long as he continues to play. Ultimately the choice is his own.

The court surfaces won't be changed and neither should they and am sure Rafa realizes that too. As I say I put it down to too many questions in the media spotlight too soon aftewr a painful (in more ways than one) exit from the tournament that he was one of the favourites to win.

So of the next generation maybe it is going to be Edmund and Chung to step up when it comes to grand slams. But early days. Not sure how their games adapt to clay - I think Thiem and Rafa (assuming recovery of knee?) will be the ones to watch on clay. But reports that Nadal could barely walk off the court suggests he probably won't make it for the clay season. So as long as Federer remains fit - he should see the no 1 ranking go to him sometime after the Australian Open.

I have just realised the French Open 2018 in May is likely to be without Wawrinka, Djokovic, Murray and Nadal. And if Federer decides to skip it to preserve his body then that would make for one strange grand slam.

No name Bertie wrote:

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 But reports that Nadal could barely walk off the court suggests he probably won't make it for the clay season.  So as long as Federer remains fit - he should see the no 1 ranking go to him sometime after the Australian Open.

Time will tell .... you may well be right.

But I personally have my doubts on both of your assumptions :

1. It’s a fair possibility that, after another spell of R&R, Rafa will be keen & ready to compete for most (if not all) of the clay season.
2, Federer has a huge number of Q1 points to defend. There is no guarantee whatever that he can repeat the successes of last season and Number 1 is not necessarily a gimme (although the gap down to No. 3 is still considerable, so he should be safe at Number 2, at worst, for a good while)

Agree about reaction to Nadal's comments - rather like the reaction to Djoko's earlier.  Journalists never give up their sensation seeking and they've caughtt poor old Nadal at a tricky moment.

For me, he needs to take more care over his schedule.  Sure, although 31 he's #1 and still capable of beating anyone on his day - but with more than 1,000 matches under his belt and a longstanding problem with his knees there's only so much it is reasonable for him to expect from himself.  Picking up from the debate above, I don't understand why last year he played 10 matches on hard in China after the US Open, and then on to Paris when he was already suffering.  Federer had a similar incentive to chase the #1 (although he had more of a mountain to climb) but he did not chase points and he also avoided all clay-court tennis last season.  I really think that Nadal needs to start thinking like that a bit more; he's got nothing more to prove to anyone on any surface. His record of 6 slams away from clay would make him a great in its own right.  He wants to sit down and talk to Lendl about pain post-playing.

ps - it's way too early to talk about Nadal missing Roland Garros this year.

Mischa Zverev has received a record fine for retiring in the first-round match under new rules to stop players retiring hurt in the first round and picking up a losing first round prize money of about $48,000.  Zverev retired hurt in the second set of his first round match with Chung and has now received a fine for "a poor first-round performance" of $45,000 leaving him with about $3,000.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/42786260

I caught some of the comments above about Edmund. Yes, his game may not look as complete as some other players, but that argument has been levelled against many a top player in recent years (e.g Roddick, Raonic) and you don't have to be perfect in every area of your game to become a regular top 30 player. I also concur that Edmund's level so far this year is clearly above where he was at previously - the serve is even more of a weapon, the movement and defensive skills are much improved.

Onto Dimitrov, he wasn't in great form coming into the tournament and his long tough match against qualifier MacDonald (who he ought to have beaten in 4 sets) caught up with him. By the time he'd come through the tough matches against Rublev and Kyrgios that had taken a lot out of him (probably more mentally than physically) and he was somewhat flat against Edmund. This is one of the aspects of his game that separates him from the big 4 and Wawrinka.

I do think Dimitrov does have a slam win in him somewhere (Wimbledon most likely) but the lapses and inconsistency mean he's never going to be a dominant all-conquering player reaching number 1 or someone winning multiple slams over a number of years.

Pity for Nadal - I thought he had a decent chance of winning this tournament - I do find it a bit unusual with his game that he's only won the 1 Australian Open (which was a real hard-fought slam title - not one of his easiest wins).

Onto the remaining quarter-finals, Sandgren will surely run out of steam against Chung, whilst Berdych is likely to give Federer more of a run for his money this time round.

There has never been a year when Rafa was not ready for, and successful at, the clay-court season. I'm sure he'll be OK for that, even if does mean his missing some of events before that (IW, Miami?)
   Fed's situation in this Slam reminds me of RG in 09 when Rafa got knocked out and Fed, with the French almost in his grasp, nearly went out to Tommy Haas and also had a struggle against delpo in the semi before triumphing. 
   My tips for tomorrow ? Chung and.....Berdych.

Although Dimitrov made errors on the key points, this is still a huge win and real step up for Edmund. I did not see it coming and honestly thought maybe straights for Dimitrov.

IF Federer wins the title then he would only be 155 points short of Rafa. But with the full points to defend at IW and Miami, he will likely lose the chance to go number 1 for the time being....and maybe forever....unless he plays Dubai and then 45 points to defend, 180 for SF (gain 135) and 300 for F. OK, he would still need a final appearance and assuming Rafa doesn't play that tournament or any prior one.

Would it be a sneaky, underhand way to do it? Maybe a little if he added the tournament to his schedule deliberately for this reason. But he'd be within his rights. He might be a bit tempted. But my guess would be he will stick to what schedule he has already planned. I haven't seen him release any schedule, but he has been at Dubai in nearly all recent years, with an injury cited for one year he wasn't.

He can of course pick up points in the clay season if he plays it, but that won't necessarily compensate for all the lost points at IW-Miami. Even if Rafa doesn't go to the US in March, Federer's gap to Rafa is likely to widen after Miami.

So, even if he does win the Australian Open, it won't be easy to get back the no 1 later in the season.

I've said in the past, years ago, that there should be no obligatory requirement to attend Masters tournaments. I think one think the tour could do in response to the injuries is some quick rules to be introduced limiting the amounts of masters that have to be played by one or two. Long term, the whole idea of obligatory tournaments could be phased out.

Chung through in straight sets

Anyone think that Berdych could cause an upset? Whatever happens, he surely won't get blown away as he was last year at Melbourne. Chung came through as expected.
   Surprisingly easy victories for Kerber and Halep today and now these two meet in a potentially terrific semi. That could go either way, but I'm sticking with Kerber.

sirfredperry wrote:Anyone think that Berdych could cause an upset? Whatever happens, he surely won't get blown away as he was last year at Melbourne............................

No, he won’t get blown away like last year. I will be amazed if he does.

Berdych has been showing some very good form and should be in the mood to push Federer, and even score a rare win over the old maestro.

Federer has not dropped a set but he hasn’t had to face any high quality opponents either. I think a number of players would have taken him out on his form so far here in Melbourne ; but of course we know he can raise his game when it matters.

This one is a 50/50 for me - based not on their h2h or respective pedigrees, but purely on their play over the past week.

Federer takes first set 7-6 (7-1)

Ominous

He didn’t so much take that set as stole it. But very cleanly once it went to TB.

Maybe Federer won’t be quite so tetchy and error-strewn now.

Federer 7-6 6–3

how the heck did Berdych lose the first set?? 5-2 up and has set points in separate games and still finds a way to blow it. He is the most frustrating player on the tour. The worst part is he has so much experience on his side having been out on tour for so many years. Also its not like he has never beaten the top players so you wonder why it still happens.