128 men entered a room. Come Sunday, one will emerge the Australian Open 2018 Champion. At this point, on the cusp of the first of two semi-finals to be played, we reflect on the four quarter-final matches.The summary conclusion for the quarter finals was 50/50. The first half of the draw has just proven too unpredictable, whereas the second half, where perennial favorite and GOAT Roger Federer has steadily progressed, my predictions have been more accurate…

1st Quarter Final

This head to head between Nadal vs Cilic was according to my original prediction. The one thing I did not factor in for my prediction was the health issues that plagued Rafa. I had expected Nadal to push through in a competitive four-set match, but his competitive spirit was tempered by an in-form Cilic. As seen in the see-saw scoreboard, the first two sets were split between them, each with a comfortable margin (6-3 being the final scores). The competitiveness of the third set ultimately went in favour of the Spainard, but the momentum was lacking and Nadal’s service game was constantly put under pressure.

It all unravelled in the fourth set, when at 1-4, Nadal requested a medical/injury timeout. On-court treatment just could not sustain him enough and even though he put up a fight to defend his serve, as was reported in the post-match interview, the pain of the final 10-minutes meant a quarter-final exit was all the more certain.

Congratulates Marin on this victory. Your first semi-final will no doubt be a good match to watch. Final score: 3-6 6-3 6-7(5) 6-2 2-r.

 

2nd Quarter Final

As I have admitted, this quarter was the hardest for me to gauge and pick the winners. Partly I had made the mistake of favoring the higher-ranked player Grigor Dimitrov over mid-ranking Kyle Edmund. The track record for both players unfortunately has obscured them from my attention; Dimitrov slightly more than Edmund given his previous semi-final appearances (AusOpen 2017 + Wimbledon 2014). Entering AusOpen 2018 as the third seed comes with expectation, and that pressure rightly or wrongly has no doubted translated into disappointment for him. Kyle’s lack of prominence is also explained by his record – this match was the furthest progression in a Grand Slam tournament for him ever. Previous success has ended at Round 4 exits.

With 46 winners to 32, Edmund’s consistency helped to translate critical points played into games and eventually the first set. That this quarter final was fairly evenly matched was a good win for tennis all round. The breaks of service in the second set for both players added to the drama. However, steadying his serve helped Dimitrov to claim the second set. After the tension of that second set, the third set was ultimately where Dimitrov unravelled, with a crucial break going the way of the Briton because of the Bulgarian’s double-fault error. In the final fourth set, a competitive neck and neck race found the players at 4-4, which caused more discomfort for the higher seed Dimitrov. Those nerves arguably got to Grigor who hit a backhand error to lose the match to Kyle: 6-4 3-6 6-3 6-4.

 

3rd Quarter Final

With the world’s media spotlight on Hyeon Chung, Korean’s Round 4 slayer of the Djokovic beast, the straight sets victory over Tennys Sandgren sets the 21-year old for a semi-final showdown against the defending champion Federer. Whilst not tipped to win against his previous opponents, knowing that just a fortnight earlier in Auckland he had bested Sandgren must have helped to motivate the young Chung. Between these two players facing off in the quarters, they had claimed four top-seeded players, including two past AusOpen champions!

Chung got the breaks of service in the first set to comfortably claim it 6-4. Tightening his game, Tennys then took the second set to a tie-breaker but still fell short. With two sets in the bag, Korean’s latest hero capitalized on the momentum. Nerves manifested in the struggle in the final games where four match points slipped through Chung’s grasp. A fifth match point was again denied by Sandgren who was clearly not going to give up without a fight; some 31-shots were fired in their rallying.

In winning 6-4 7-6 6-3, Hyeon makes history for Korea and with a nation of some 50+ million behind him, the favorable time-zone placement of Melbourne and South Korea will ensure millions more are watching the upcoming semi-final where Hyeon has nothing to lose and everything to gain.

4th Quarter Final

The closest Berdych came to upsetting the King in this quarter final was throughout the first set. Keeping an eye on this match last night whilst hosting a farewell party, I allowed for background viewing of the first set, before the night’s main events took front seat. Nerves were rattled slightly early on when Federer was broken and looked vulnerable with a scoreline like 4-1. However, even with this kind of edge, against Federer, you can never be too sure. And with momentum building, Federer slowly clawed his way back, breaking Berdych to arrive at 5-4. Things started to unravel with the tie-breaker falling to Federer, and with the first set in hand, Federer continued on his merry way to claim the second. Berdych’s time-out after the second set only delayed the inevitable lose.

The final third set saw breaks of service for both men, showing what small chinks Federer does have in his armour; he is human after all… Some court drama with Hawk Eye was a momentarily blip in the otherwise straight-sets win. Federer now enters his 14th AusOpen semi, 43 semis in total, having beaten Tomas consecutively for a ninth time. Their head to head remains in Federer’s favour though: 20-6.  Federer now faces a first-time meeting with Hyeon Chung, who, along with one of Cilic/Edmund, stand between him and a 20th Grand Slam victory. The quarter-final score: 4-6 6-3 6-4.

 

Finals: Federer Firm Favorite

This Australian Open 2018 will be remember as one of those grand slam tournaments where top-seeded players succumbed to a combination of injury and ambitious and talented men. Of all our traditional favorites in Nadal (who will remain No 1 seed irrespective of the outcome), Djokovic or even third seed Dimitrov, the GOAT Roger Federer has everything to win should he prevail against Hyeon Chung and whoever the first finalist is determined to be.

The list of superlatives and records against the Federer name are truly staggering. Some of the current records set to increment:

• 19 grand slam wins
• 5 Australian Open championships (2004 – 2007, 2017)
• 6 finals appearances overall
• Potential repeat of 2007, where he could win without losing a set
• 14 semifinals appearances overall

Against Marin Cilic, their head-to-head is 8-1, with the last time Marin beat Roger being the 2014 US Open semi-final. There are no previous head-to-head face-offs for Federer against Kyle Edmund or Hyeon Chung… All the best gentlemen, even though I do think AusOpen 2018 is Roger’s to win!