U.S Open 2013 Draw Unveiled - ATP

There are some interesting match-ups as the draw was unveiled for the 2013 U.S Open. The biggest question was who would get Federer and as most of us expected, Federer landed in Nadal's quarter. Murray fell in Djokovic's half while Ferrer filled in the last spot for the top 4 seeds.

Potential Quarter-final match-ups are as follows:

Djokovic - Delpotro (Should be a good one if happens)
Murray - Berdych
Ferrer - Gasquet  (Opportunity for a lot of players to make the quarter-finals and even the semi-finals)
Nadal - Federer

Djokovic and Dimitrov potential third round match promises to be great one, if Dimitrov can play well. Nadal - Isner potential fourth round match also promises to be great.

For complete draw please click here.

I will be doing an analysis of the draw, so stay tuned :)

Murray vs Almagro (Olympics 2012 Quarter - Final Preview)

A place in the gold medal match is on the line, surprisingly all 8 quarter-finalists represent 8 different countries.
Murray and Almagro open the proceedings on Court 1, while Djokovic and Tsonga play second on the centre court, followed by Federer and Isner, while Nishikori and Del Potro play 3rd on Court 1.

Let us have a look at the Murray Almgaro match. Enjoy the Federer - Isner Preview here, and Djokovic - Tsonga preview here.

With a place in the medal match, both Murray and Almagro will be keen on walking off the court smiling.

Description	Murray	Almagro
Match record this year	35-10	49-15
H2H	2	1
H2H on grass	0	0

The pair has not met since their meeting in Indian Wells 2010, where Almagro had to retire in the second set. Almagro is one of the two players who have not lost  a set in making it to the quarter-finals.

Murray is coming off a confidence boasting win over Baghdatis in the 3rd round, where he came back after loosing the first set to win the match in 3 sets.

Let us have a look at the performance of the players so far in the tournament:

Description	Murray	Almagro
Aces	9	12
Double Faults	1	4
First Serve	62%	61%
Points won on first serve	80%	85%
Points won on second serve	63%	51%
Receiving points won on first serve	35%	27%
Receiving points won on second serve	55%	66%
Break points	34%	60%
Total winners	26	26
Unforced errors	16	13
Net points won	73%	81%

Almagro has been strong on his first serve winning 4% more points as compared to Murray. Murray on the other hand has been strong on his second serve, winning 12% more points behind his second serve as compared to his quarter-final opponent.

The pattern of serve stats is reversed in the return stats, Murray has won 8% more points as compared to Amgaro when returning the first serve, whereas Almagro has won 11% more points than Murray when returning the second serve.

The winners - unforced errors differential for Almagro is +13, while for Murray it is +10. Both Murray and Almagro have been broken twice so far in the tournament.


Grass is not Almagro's favourite surface, while Murray is at home on grass. Almgro will complete half a centry of matches if he wins this match, with the reward of playing for a medal. Murray is keen to make impact in the Olympics by bagging a medal and will be keen to march past Almagro.

If Almagro brings on his A game and keeps up his serve, he will give Murray a run for the semi-final spot, however, home crowd will definitely help Murray and Murray will be tough to beat.

Pick: Murray in 2 sets

Who are you rooting for?

Federer vs Isner (Olympics 2012 Quarter-Final Preview)

Federer has reached the quarter-finals of Olympics for the 3rd time, and he has progressed out of the Olympics only for one time (2000). Isner has made it to the quarter-finals on his debut in Olympics and will be keen on winning  a medal for USA. Isner is one of the two players who have yet to lose a set (the other being Almagro).

Description                                      Federer        Isner
Match record this year                       49-6              33-13
H2H                                                    3                    1
H2H on grass                                      0                     0

Federer will be keen to win this match to earn a place in the medal match, while Isner will walk into the match knowing that he can win against the world no.1, having done it before as well in Davis Cup on clay this year.

Isner is 9-20 against the top 10 players, with his most recent win coming over Tipsarevic. Isner is having been having a stellar year, with wins over Feder (Davis Cup) and Djokovic (Indian Wells Semi-finals).

Let us have a look at the stats of the players so far in the tournament:

Description                                                            Federer                 Isner
Aces                                                                            6                          20
Double Faults                                                               0                           1
First Serve                                                                  66%                      75%
Points won on first serve                                              75%                     86%
Points won on second serve                                         54%                     61%
Receiving points won on first serve                               33%                     28%
Receiving points won on second serve                          65%                     43%
Break points                                                                77%                     36%
Total winners                                                               30                         36  
Unforced errors                                                           19                         15  
Net points won                                                            77%                      74%


The major factors that will be playing a part in today's match will be:

First Serve and points won behind first serve: It will be important for both players to hold the serve. Isner has been serving lights out so far in the tournament, making 75% of his first serves and winning 86% of those, while Federer has been making only 66% of first serves and has won only 75%, 11% less points as compared to Isner, behind his first serve. If Federer is to move past the Ace Machine, he will have to keep the numbers of his serve up.

Points won behind second serve: Federer has won only 54% points behind his second serve, whereas Isner has won 7% more points as compared to Federer.

Return Stats: Federer has won 5% more points when returning first serve and22% more points as compared to Isner when returning the second serve. Return of serve will be very crucial for both players.

Break Points: Winning the break points will be the deciding factor in the match, Federer has so far been broken 4 times, while Isner has not yet been broken in the tournament.


Isner has been playing cleaner matches as compared to Federer. Isner has +21 winners to unforced errors differential, while Federer has +11. Federer will have to bring out his A game to have chance against Isner, if Isner keeps on serving at the level he has been in the first 3 matches, and with no tie break in the third set, expect it to be another Isnerish match unless Federer makes his move and wins it before that.

Pick: Federer in 3 sets

Who do you think will win this match? Enjoy the Djokovic - Tsonga Quarter-Final preview here.

Wimbledon Matches to Watch - Day 3

Let us have a look at few matches of the day 3.

1 - Djokovic (1) vs Harrison

Description	Djokovic	Harrison
YTD Match Record	36-6	17-15
H2H	1	0
Wimbledon Best Result	Winner	2nd round
Year of best Result	2011	2011

Djokovic is the defending champion and is coming off a straight sets win over a tricky first round opponent, Ferrero. Harrison is coming off a 4 set win over the 2010 Wimbledon quarter-finalist Lu. The pair has met only once, with Djokovic easily handling the American in Cincinnati last year. Harrison is playing in just his 2nd Wimbledon. Harrison is playing at a carrerhigh ranking of 48, but so is Djokovic, at a career high ranking of 1. Djokovic had a slow start in his opener. Harrison has lost his all 4 meetings against the top 10 this year, and is win-less  against the top 10 in his 13 career meetings against them. This is Djokovic's 8th appearance here, and he has lost in the 2nd round only once. It was back in 2008, but he has transformed a lot since then. Will it be 14th time lucky for Harrison or will Djokovic march on to defend his title?

Pick: Djokovic in 4 sets

2- Federer (3) vs Fognini

Description	Federer	Fognini
YTD Match Record	39-6	11-12
H2H	1	0
Wimbledon Best Result	Winner	3rd round
Year of best Result	2003-07 & 2009	2010

The pair's only meeting came back in 2007 in the 3rd round of Montreal Canada. Federer straight setted Fognini then, but since then they have not faced each other. Federer in his previous 9 visits here has  not lost before the QF stage. Fognini has just one win over a top 10 player in his career in the 16 encounters against the elite. Will he be able to record his second win? Federer looked great in his first round win over Ramos. It will be an uphill battle for Fognini.

Pick: Federer in 3 sets

3- Simon (13) vs Malisse

Description	Simon	Malisse
YTD Match Record	29-15	13-15
H2H	2	0
Wimbledon Best Result	4th round	SF
Year of best Result	2006	2002

Grass brings the best out of Malisse, whose best grand slam performance to date came on this very surface when he made it to the semi-finals. Simon too has been steady on this surface, though he has never made it out of the 4th round in his previous 6 visits here. The pair's last meeting came in 2010 in the QF of Metz, won by Simon in 3 sets. Malisse is coming off a straight sets win over Australian Matosevic, Simon however got a win when Mathieu retired while trailing 36 45. Malisse is one of the talented under-achievers, who could not realise his potential to the fullest. Simon, being the higher ranked will be no doubt the favourite, but Malisse will have a chance for an upset. I have to give an edge to Malisee given his love for grass, but given his up and down form during the matches, it will be tough for him to pull it off.

Pick: Simon in 5 sets

4- Mahut vs Falla

Description	Mahut	Falla
YTD Match Record	11-10	7-14
H2H	2	0
Wimbledon Best Result	3rd round	2nd round
Year of best Result	2006	2004, 2006, 2007

Both Mahut and Falla had lost the opener at Wimbledon in their previous 4 visits here. While Mahut is best known for his match against Isner in the first round of Wimbledon 2010, Falla is best known for stretching Federer, 6 time Wimbledon champion, to 5 sets in the opener Mahut had the chance of meeting the marathon man Isner for the 3rd straight year (the last 2 years the played the opener here). However, Falla had other plans, he outplayed Isner in the first round to book a spot in the second round to match his best performance at Wimbledon. THe pair has met twice in the main draw matches and twice at the qualifiers and challenger level. It is Mahut who has won the pair's both meetings in the main draw matches, but it is Falla who has got the better of Mahut in the qualifiers and challenger level matches. Falla must be high on confidence after his comeback win over highest ranked American in the first round. He saved a match point en-route his upset over Isner. Mahut, however, must be as confident while he walks on court. It will all come down to who can manage his nerves. Falla has a chance to make it to the 3rd round of Wimbledon for the first time in his career, while Mahut will try his best to match his best showing here of 2006. Let us hope for a great battle.

Pick: Mahut in 5 sets

Who do you think will be the one leaving the court with a smiling note?