I’m not traveling for a long time. Don’t even ask me. The only way I travel this weekend, do I even need to tell you? Australian Open finals tickets.

The past two weekends have consisted of six flights (albeit none of which exceeded two hours in length), extensive rail travel, and many dollars spent. Good weekends, for sure, but they definitely could have been better timed – say, on weekends that aren’t featuring Grand Slam tennis? Whenever I finally get my internship with the ITF, maybe this problem won’t surface.

Because of my absence, I haven’t been able to comment much on the fourth round at all. Amazingly, I still got to catch a fair amount of it whilst on Long Island and, if you can believe it, while in the air, thanks to jetBlue’s DirecTV service. I caught glimpses of Roddick/Ancic, Federer/Djokovic, and Nadal/Murray; all of which are star-studded affairs. I don’t want to say too much, because of those three contests, I really only saw the Federer match 'in full' (the second and third sets), and even that was on tape delay the following morning. Instead, I’ll have a bit to say about the victors of those matches below, because tonight’s post is dedicated to the quarter finals.

By the way, I know there’s no need for complaining, because any tennis is good tennis, but I didn’t realise how much the timing of the AO can hinder the blogging process – if I was without a full-time job, it would actually work out perfectly, as I could write and publish in the day, with the matches at night. However, with almost no time in between the conclusion of my work day and the start of the tennis day in Melbourne, my ability to conceive lengthy diatribes is somewhat limited. This explains the recent shorter posts of mine; I hope you don’t mind. (not to mention all the travel I’ve been doing.) Thankfully, I’m not the only one feeling the crunch – almost all of my recent 'commenters' on [G/R] have said a bit about how the time zone has impacted their daily lives. See what kind of impact this game has on people?

So without further adieu, some thoughts on the four quarter final matches in Australia, all of which are quite appetising:

Roger Federer (1) vs. Tommy Robredo (7)

In the only match featuring two players that, by their ranking, were expected to make it this far, I really don’t see much of a match unfolding. This has the feel of some of the countless Federer matches last year, where a fine and highly ranked player is just completely outplayed by Roger in a big match. Some of these examples would include, but are not limited to:

def. Blake 7-5, 6-3, 6-0 (AMS Indian Wells – Final)
def. Ancic 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 (Roland Garros – Quarter final)
def. Berdych 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 (Wimbledon – Round of 16)
def. Davydenko 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 (U.S. Open – Semi final)
def. Gonzalez 7-5, 6-1, 6-0 (AMS Madrid – Final)

and of course:

def. Blake 6-0, 6-3, 6-4 (Tennis Masters Cup – Final)

I mention that last Blake match because that is the most powerful performance I saw from Roger all year. Federer still has the momentum from the end of 2006, and there is no way I can see Tommy Robredo being an obstacle that he won’t demolish. The Spaniard has improved immensely over the past year, and has made good on upholding his high ranking, but this match has the same, 'three and out' feel to it. And good riddance for Robredo – he beat Gasquet in the last round!
Pick: Federer

Mardy Fish vs. Andy Roddick (6)

Boy, if anyone could have predicted this match, you would be on the floor laughing and they’d be millionaires. With Blake, Fish and Roddick all reaching the round of 16, the anti-American tennis chants should die down, until the French Open of course, where it will all resurface again. But Blake is now on a plane home. It's been a completely forgotten American, Mardy Fish, (well beaten by Roddick) who has been on a huge momentum streak and his revival has been great to watch for American fans.
Result: Roddick in straight sets

Tommy Haas (12) vs. Nikolay Davydenko (3)

The most underwhelming thrird seed of all time versus a veteran that seemingly will never go away. This will probably be the most competitive match of the four quarter finals, because each player seems to always grind, every point, until the final ball is struck. Davydenko wants to justify his lofty seeding and finally break through in a major, while Haas wants to show he can still be considered an elite player. But Haas may want this a bit more, especially after last year’s Australian Open, where he nearly defeated Federer (giving the Swiss his biggest test of the tournament), but fell in five sets.

This is the only match of the four where I haven’t yet seen either player play in this tournament, so I can’t base my judgment on actual viewing experience from this year. But going on what I have seen in prior matches, the intangibles checkmark would go to the German, not the Russian. Saying that, do you want to know their last match (which I forgot)? Davydenko won in five sets, coming back from two sets down, at the quarter finals of last year’s U.S. Open – something tells me Haas will remember this. Hmm, so that 'more heart' thought might not be so accurate. Still, because of the revenge factor, and the sheer determination of Haas (which I think exceeds Davydenko), I’m going with the German (I also have him in the tennis pool at work!)
Pick: Haas

Fernando Gonzalez (10) vs. Rafael Nadal (2)

If you told me that this would be the quarter final in Nadal’s quarter of the bracket before this event started, I would take Gonzalez in a heartbeat here. The Chilean has caught fire, and I would have said that if he got this far, he’s on his game, locked in, and not going to go away. But after watching Nadal’s last two matches (vs. Wawrinka and Murray), I’m going to retract that thought. Nadal is more and more comfortable on the Rebound Ace surface with every passing match, just as many of the pundits predicted. He’s attacking the ball, not just keeping it in play. Rafa’s looking dominant in Melbourne and is showing exactly why he’s still the clear cut number two player in the world.

Gonzo has taken out hometown 'hero' Lleyton Hewitt, as well as James Blake, who was handed a trip to the quarters by most tennis observers. These are no small feats, but at the moment, I think Nadal is just playing too well. I actually think that Haas would give Rafa a better match that Gonzalez will, even though this certainly has the potential to go five sets, a la Murray/Nadal. I don’t think it will, instead; I think it’s Nadal in four.

The more I watch the 2007 Australian Open, the more I get the feeling we’re headed for Federer/Nadal once again (fine by me).
Pick: Nadal

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