Andy Murray v Tomas Berdych
Tomas Berdych produced a stirring performance in the quarter-finals to beat the world number one Roger Federer, 7-6 6-4 3-6 6-3. It may have been a surprise to many, but Berdych has been gathering steam throughout the tournament and has had success over Federer on the big stage before at the Olympics and Wimbledon too. Andy Murray recovered from a set and 5-1 deficit to beat Marin Cilic, 3-6 7-6 6-2 6-0. The Brit was in big trouble before the Croatian hit the self-destruct button. Both have played well up to this stage and a big opportunity of a US Open final awaits the winner...
Berdych is going to be a real tough competitor for Murray to get past. He is essentially a better version of Cilic and although he has been prone to mental collapses, he is unlikely to fold in the same way that the Croatian did in the quarter-finals. The head-to-head also shows that Murray struggles with the Berdych game; he is 2-4 with Berdych winning 4 of the last 5 matches they have played. They have played twice this year with Berdych prevailing in three sets in Monte-Carlo and Murray winning in Dubai. I think this will be a very tense match with so much up for grabs, but I am sticking by Murray to make the final.
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| Prediction - Andy Murray to beat Tomas Berdych in 4 tight sets |
Novak Djokovic v David Ferrer
Novak Djokovic has looked in excellent form throughout this year's US Open and with the exit of Roger Federer, will be the favourite on paper to win the title. Djokovic overcame Juan Martin Del Potro, 6-2 7-6 6-4 in a tough three setter. The Argentine threw everything at Djokovic in a marathon second set but the Serb's defence was just too good. David Ferrer had his hands full with Janko Tipsarevic in the quarter finals as he recovered from two sets to one down and a 4-1 fifth set deficit to make the semi-finals with a 6-3 6-7 2-6 6-3 7-6 victory. It was one of, if not the best mens match at this year's Open and Tipsarevic played some incredibly strong tennis in the middle of the match.
Ferrer's attitude and fighting spirit on the court is second to none and I would love to see him make a first Grand Slam final. His record against Djokovic is 5-8, but the Serb has won four of their last five matches and all three of their Grand Slam clashes. Djokovic has looked so impressive this week and unfortunately for the Spaniard, I do not think he has enough in the bag to trouble the world number two.
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| Prediction - Novak Djokovic to beat David Ferrer in 3 sets |
You can view my original predictions that I made at the start of the fortnight for the mens draw HERE. Its not a bad week and I am potentially on course to correctly predicting the final two.
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