It’s the business end of the year’s final Grand Slam and our tennis expert casts his eye over 2 of the upcoming quarter-finals, including Federer’s matchup against Dimitrov.
ATP Tour 2019 | US Open | Flushing Meadows, New York City
Selected Quarter-Finals | 3-4 September 2019
Stan Wawrinka (7/10)
vs Danil Medvedev (21/20)
This promises to be a potential classic, with the resurgent Stan Wawrinka coming against the hottest property in hard-court tennis: Danil Medvedev.
Many thought that Wawrinka’s time at the top had been ended by a litany of injury concerns. But the 34-year-old has defied the odds and enjoyed a respectable comeback year.
He reached the final in Rotterdam prior to quarterfinals in Mexico, Madrid and Roland Garros. hat performance in Paris once again underlined his undoubted Grand Slam pedigree.
The three-time Grand Slam champion won here in 2016. He has also reached a further two semi-finals. But it was his devastating victory over defending champion Novak Djokovic in the last round that really announced his return to the big time. His backhand was utterly devastating, and it didn’t seem as if the Serbian superstar had enough to compete with him from the back of the court.
He will once again need to find that rhythm against Russia’s latest tennis hero.
What a year it has been for Danil Medvedev. He has cracked the top 5 in the rankings after a sensational campaign that has seen him succeed on all surfaces.
He started the year in ominous fashion, losing in the Brisbane Final. He then pushed Djokovic in Melbourne prior to victory at the Sofia Open.
He reached the semi-finals prior to a positive clay-court burst. He reached the semi-finals at Monte Carlo before an excellent run to the Barcelona Final. A semi-final in Queens enhanced his grass-court status prior to his mesmerizing North-American hard-court run. Back-to-back final defeats in Washington and Canada was followed with his debut Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati.
He has shown the ability to switch styles, going for broke on 2nd serves ala Kyrgios and using his idiosyncratic drop-shot technique to devastating effect.
This will only be their 2nd ever meeting, with Medvedev winning a four-set match at the 2017 edition of Wimbledon. Wawrinka played some brilliant tennis against Djokovic, though question marks exist over just how impaired Djokovic was. Medvedev is the option for me. I can’t ignore one year of tennis because of one brilliant Wawrinka performance against an injured legend.
Roger Federer (1/14)
vs Grigor Dimitrov (13/2)
Federer started this event in much the same way he has played it in recent years: unconvincing.
He was virtually unbeatable over a decade ago, winning five consecutive titles between 2004 and 2008. The last time he reached a final here was 2015.
But the Federer machine has looked more settled in his 3rd and 4th round matches, with resounding victories over Evans and David Goffin. That humiliation of Goffin was particularly telling given the form of the Belgian entering this event.
Federer will be looking to exorcise the demons of that heart-breaking loss to Djokovic in the Wimbledon final. But otherwise, it has been a rock-solid year for Federer, including three titles and a final at Indian Wells.
He looks far more solid this year, perhaps buoyed by a drastically curtailed schedule: though he did enjoy a clay-court campaign this year.
The most successful Bulgarian tennis player of all time, Grigor Dimitrov has endured a nightmare 2019 season. The 2017 ATP World Finals Champion has just tanked this season, with that usually reliable forehand churning out unforced errors in alarming fashion.
Obviously, this match-up is one of contrasts, with many once anticipating Dimitrov as the natural successor to Federer, even nicknaming him ’Baby Fed’ due to their playing similarities. But the loving moniker hasn’t done him many favours. Few could have anticipated his issues this year.
He started the year with a decent 4th round run at the Aussie Open, but it’s really been downhill since then. Stan Wawrinka has been his nemesis in recent weeks, knocking him out in the opening rounds of Canada and Cincinnati. But I believe those hard-fought defeats actually started to bring some form back to the Dimitrov game: just look at how well Wawrinka has done here. He was fortunate to receive a bye in the 3rd round through Coric’s withdrawal, but his routine straight-sets victory over Alex De Minaur brought back some memories of vintage Dimitrov’s best form.
If you’re a Dimitrov fan it’s probably best to look away now. Federer holds a 7-0 head-to-head record against Dimitrov, with the Bulgarian only ever winning two sets during that span. Federer to win in four at 23/10 makes sense to me, especially when you look at the Swiss maestro’s penchant for dropping a set in the early rounds.
Written by Damien Kayat for Hollywoodbets.
