2015 AUS OPEN Day 1: Ivanovic(5),Kerber(9),Gulbis(11) Upset; Rafa,Raja,Andy,Masha,Halep,Genie Win 1st Round

The Happy Slam has begun! The 2015 Australian Open, with defending champions Stanislas Wawrinka on the men's side and no defending champion on the women's side (due to Li Na's retirement) began yesterday.

On Day 1, there were a slew of upsets on the women's side with two of the Top 10 seeds exiting in pretty shocking upsets when Ana Ivanovic (who reached the final here in 2008) and Angelique Kerber (who has been underperforming in the majors since she entered the Top 10) both lost. Other seeded players who wasted the long flight Down Under were: Svetlana Kuznetsova(27), Sabine Lisicki(28), Carla Suarez Navarro(17) and Lucie Safarova(16).

On the men's side #11 seed Ernests Gulbis lost a match to Aussie youngster Thanasi Kokkinakis while the other Aussie phenom Nick Kyrgios did well to win a five-setter. The only other seeded player to fall was #15 seed Tommy Robredo.

So, who did win? The usual suspects: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych all won their 1st round matches, as did Grigor Dimitrov, in a much-0hyped showdown with flashy Dustin Brown. On the women's side Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep, and Genie Bouchard all won their first round matches.

On day 2 both Williams sisters will be in action, along with Novak Djokovic. One popcorn match is Victoria Azarenka versus Sloane Stephenes while another is Caroline Wozniacki versus Taylor Townsend--I think it's gonna be a rough day for the Americans!

2014 HALLE: Federer in 9th Halle Final, Will Meet Falla

Roger Federer is playing in his record 9th final in Halle, Germany on Sunday, where he will face Colmbian Alejandro Falla. Federer has won this grass court title 6 times before (2003-2006, 2008, 2013), including last year when he defeated Mikhail Youzhny. He has lost finals to Lleyton Hewitt (2010) and Tommy Haas (2012).

Federer beat Kei Nishikori in the semifinals this year 6-3 7-6(4). Falla is pretty good on grass, since in 2010 he gave the then 6-time Wimbledon champion a scare by winning the first two sets of their first round match but then lost in 5 sets. Hopefully Federer will take this match very seriously and tomorrow will bring Roger his 79th ATP title in Halle!

2013 US OPEN: Wawrinka(9) Stuns Defending champ Murray(3)!

In another very surprising surprising result Stanislas Wawrinka followed up his upset of World #5 Tomas Berdych in the 4th round with an even bigger win, this time over World #3 and 2012 US Open champion Andy Murray. The Swiss #2 was able to beat the reigning Wimbledon champion in straight sets, 6-4 6-3 6-2. Clearly, Murray did not play his best tennis, making twice as many unforced errors as winners (30 to 15) but Wawrinka had to overcome a 5-8 disadvantage in the overall head-to-head and the fact that in his three previous major quarterfinals he had lost all of them.

Most likely Wawrinka will go on to play World 31 Novak Djokovic, who squares off versus Mikhail Youzhny later today. The two played what is so far one of the best matches of the year at the Australian Open, which was eventually won by Djokovic 12-10 in the 5th set! I doubt that Wawrinka would fare as well in New York playing in his first major semifinal, but with two consecutive Top 5 wins, who knows what could happen?

2013 US OPEN: Men's Quarterfinal's Preview

Last  year I correctly predicted 3 of 4 women's quarterfinals and correctly predicted 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals. This year I also have made predictions for the women's quarterfinals. Below are my predictions for the men's quarterfinals at the 2013 US Open.

Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1] vs Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) [21]. The World #1 has been devastating so far through the first four rounds, serving up three bagel sets (including two in his 4th round demolition of Marcello Granollers) and losing on 22 games and no sets. Youzhny is coming off one of the greatest comebacks in US Open history, having beaten 2001 US Open champion Lleyton Hewitt despite being down 1-4 in the 4th set and 2-5 in the 5th set, eventually winning the match 6-3 3-6 6-7(3) 6-4 7-5 in four hours of play to reach his 3rd US Open quarterfinal. Even though he'll have two days to recover and has won his two previous quarterfinal appearance (against Rafael Nadal in 2006 and Stanislas Wawrinka in 2010). Mad Professah's pick: Djokovic.

Andy Murray (GBR) [3] vs Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) [9] Tomas Berdych (CZE) [5]. For the second major tournament, Wawrinka has reached deeper into the tournament than his more celebrated countryman. Although the defending champion Andy Murray has an 8-5 head-to-head record against Wawrinka, he has lost to him before at the US Open, just three years ago. However that was before Murray had won his two major titles. The Swiss is now a legitimate Top 10 player with his 4-set upset of World #5 Tomas Berdych in the round before so he has already had a very good tournament. Wawrinka is playing in only his 4th major quarterfinal while Murray has reached the final of the last four major tournament he entered. Murray is also one of the top 2 or 3 hard court players in the world and sports a 6-2 lead on Wawrinka on this surface. Mad Professah's pick: Murray.

Richard Gasquet (FRA) [8] vs David Ferrer (ESP) [4]. This should be the popcorn match of the four quarterfinal round. Both Ferrer and Gasquet had to get through stern tests to reach this point. Gasquet survived the serving barrage (39 aces!) of Milos Raonic in the 4th round, escaping with a win despite hitting fewer winners (45 to Raonic's 102) by playing well on the important points: 6-7(4) 7-6(4) 2-6 7-6(11) 7-5. Ferrer ground down the talented Janko Tipsarevich  in four sets despite trying to choke away his win repeatedly. However the history between these two players indicates that Ferrer has Gasquet's number. The Spaniard has an 8-1 head-to-head record over the Frenchman and despite his prodigious talents Gasquet has only reached a major semifinal once in hs career and this is his second quarterfinal appearance despite reaching the 4th round 16 times before. Mad Professah's pick: Ferrer.

Roger Federer (SUI) [7] Tommy Robredo (ESP) [19] vs Rafael Nadal (ESP) [2].  Robredo is coming off the greatest win of his long career, a straight sets upset of 17-time major champion Roger Federer, while Nadal is undefeated on hard courts this year. Let me say that again. Nadal has won 19 consecutive matches on his worst surface and is having one of the best seasons of his life. Robredo has never beaten Nadal in 6 meetings (he had never beaten Federer in 10 meetings) but Nadal is near his peak while it is becoming painfully clear Federer is playing nowhere near his best tennis. This match should be the least interesting of the four quarterfinals and Nadal has to be considered the favorite to reach his second US Open final and cement his position as the best player of 2013 by winning his second major title of the year. Mad Professah's pick: Nadal.

2013 US OPEN Day 7: Serena, Li, Nole, Andy Win; Aggie and Angie Upset

The match of the day on Day 7 of the 2013 US Open was the fourth round showdown between the top two American players, World #1 Serena Williams and World #15 Sloane Stephens. It was clear that the defending champion took this match very seriously, and this resulted in an emphatic 6-4 6-1 victory over 20-year-old rival. Even though her serve was not working very well (6 aces and 4 double faults) she still hit one at 125 mph. The key to the match was Serena hitting 22 winners and only 13 unforced errors (compared to Stephens' 15 winners and 29 errors).

I was on grounds of the Billie Jean King United States Tennis Association National Tennis Center, but did not see the Williams-Stephens match because it was in Arthur Ashe Stadium where one basically has to have more money than sense to have good seats.

Instead, I spent most of my time in Louis Armstrong Stadium where I saw a great match between World #8 Angelique Kerber of Germany and Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain. Suarez Navarro won 4-6 6-3 7-6(3). In nearly 3 hours, the two played some incredible rallies (the average rally length was 6 shots and more than three-quarters of rallies were over 4 shots). The longest was 33 shots which was won by Kerber, whose defensive skills are impressive. However, it was the Spaniard who clearly was the aggressor for most of the match (she has a beautiful one-handed backhand that matched up well with Kerber's left-handed forehand) and the two exchanged breaks of serve in the third set multiple times. Suarez Navarro served for the match at 5-4 but then got broken at love and had to hold serve to stay alive at 5-6 and came with two points of losing at 30-all in that game. However, that was as close as Kerber came to winning (despite the score in the second set it really was not close at all--Kerber was down 0-5 at one point). In the tiebreak, Suarez Navarro went up 5-1 and then eventually won the match as a Kerber forehand sailed long at 6-3.

I also saw the end of the Tomas Berdych's straight sets win over Julien Benneteau and also the first set of Mikhail Youzhny's eventual 6-3 6-2 2-6 6-3 win over Tommy Haas. Too bad I didn't remain in my seat because I would have been able to witness World #4 Aggie Radwanska's dismissal by Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets 6-4 6-4.

Today I am going to the tournament again, and will according to the schedule I will probably see the Williams sisters doubles match against Lucie Safarova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, followed by Milos Raonic-Richard Gasquet fighting for a quarterfinal berth. Roger Federer will be playing Tommy Robredo whom he has a 10-0 record against in order to potentially meet Rafael Nadal in their very first meeting at the US Open in a blockbuster quarterfinal.

Federer Beats Youzhny for 6th HalleTitle

Roger Federer won his 6th title in Halle, Germany by defeating Mikhail Youzhny for the 15th time 6-7(5) 6-3 6-4. It was Federer's first title of 2013, his first since winning the 2012 Cincinnati Masters over Novak Djokovic last August. It was the Swiss great's 77th ATP tour title and 904th career win. He lost his only other 2013 final appearance at the Rome Masters to Rafael Nadal in May. His career finals record is now 77-35.

It was Federer's first win in Halle since 2008, having lost in the final last year to Tommy Haas (who he beat this year in the semifinals) and to Lleyton Hewitt in 2010. He did not play in 2009 and 2011, despite having a lifetime contract to appear at the "German Wimbledon."

Federer is aiming for his 8th Wimbledon title (and is the 2012 defending champion), just one month after Nadal won his record 8th Roland Garros title.

2013 HALLE: Federer Into SF 6-0 6-0, 902nd ATP Tour Win

Roger Federer recorded only the 2nd double bagel win of his career, his 902nd ATP Tour win, over Mischa Zverev, in 39 minutes and 29 seconds to reach the semifinals of the Gerry Wever Open in Halle, Germany. He will face Tommy Haas, who beat the 5-time champion here last year in the final. Haas dropped the first set to Gael Monfils in a tiebreak but then came back to win the quatrerfinal 6-7(4) 6-3 6-3. On the other side of the draw #2 seed Richard Gasquet will face the winner of Mikhail Youzhny and Phillip Kohlschreiber.

Federer has lost barely more than a handful of times on grass in his career, and is the defending champion at Wimbledon. however, he is looking for his first title of 2013.

MONTE CARLO 2013 Final: Djokovic-Nadal XXXIV

In a repeat of last year's final, 8-time defending champion Rafael Nadal will face World #1 Novak Djokovic on Sunday at the 2013 Monte Carlo Rolex Masters 1000 tournament in Monaco. As I predicted last night, Nadal was able to defeat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets, although the Frenchman did put a bit of a scare into the Spaniard by coming back from 1-5 down in the 2nd set (saving four match points!) to force a tiebreak which he lost 7-3, along with the match 6-3 7-6(3). In the other semifinal Djokovic played the irrepressible Fabio Fognini, who was playing in his first Masters Series-level semifinal after dispatching Richard Gasquet and Tomas Berdych in consecutive rounds. Djokovic looked very sharp and dismissed the hunky Italian in under an hour 6-1 6-2.

Sunday will be the 34th meeting in the burgeoning rivalry between Djokovic and Nadal. Their last 10 meetings have been in final with Nadal winning the last 3 and Djokovic winning the first 7. Overall, Nadal lead 19-14 and 8-7 in tour finals. But, amazingly, Djokovic has beaten Nadal in two clay court finals (2011 Madrid Masters and 2011 Rome Masters) but has lost to him in four clay court finals, including the 2009 Monte Carlo final and the 2012 Monte Carlo final. Nadal leads 11-2 in clay court matches while Djokovic leads 11-5 on hard courts. Last year the Serbian was reeling from a personal crisis and lost relatively easily 6-3 6-1 to the King of Clay. This year Djokovic's difficulties will be more physical than mental. He injured his ankle ina Davis Cup match versus Sam Querrey two weeks ago and until hours before he played his first match on Wednesday, it was unclear whether the World #1 would even play the tournament. He won a scratchy match against Mikhail Youzhny 4-6 6-1 6-4 but has looked sharp during the business end of the tournament. Nadal surprisingly lost a set against fast-improving Grigor Dimitrov in his quarterfinal on his way to his 9th consecutive final here.

However, he is playing the King of Clay, who has reached 5 consecutive finals this year (winning three of them so far) and who has won this tournament 8 times in a row, something no one has ever done at any tournament. In fact, Nadal has won 44 matches in a row in Monte Carlo including the now classic 5-set tussle with Roger Federer in 2008, which some might argue is almost as good as their 2008 match in the Wimbledon final a few months later. Nadal wants to win in order to increase his total of the number of career ATP Masters 1000 shields from the current record total of 22, win his 9th title here and also not lose ranking points.

Djokovic, on the other hand, probably feels pretty good just to get the final and can probably go home and rest his ankle after this tournament until the Madrid-Rome double starts in two weeks. It is on that terrain that he will need to bolster his claim that he can prevent Nadal from winning his 8th French Open title.

MadProfessah's prediction: Nadal.

2012 Wimbledon: Men's Quarterfinals Preview

AP

Here are my predictions for the women's quarterfinals at the Wimbledon Championships for 2012. Last year I  correctly predicted 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals and correctly predicted 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals.

Novak Djokovic SRB (1) vs. Richard Gasquet FRA (18) Florian Mayer GER (31). The World #1's inevitable march to a mouth-watering semifinal showdown with 6-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer continues. His opponent is a German journeyman who is playing in his first ever major quarterfinal playing the best tennis of his life. Mayer's just happy to be here, and although he has a decent grass court game, he simply does not have the arsenal to match what Djokovic brings to the court. Mayer will be lucky to win even a handful of games. PREDICTION: Djokovic.

Roger Federer SUI (3) vs. Mikhail Youzhny RUS (26). Roger Federer has played Mikhail Youzhny 13 times and never lost a match to the mercurial Russian. Youzhny is a talented grass court player, having reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon seven times in his career, with his first quarterfinal appearance occurring this year. The two have played 5 times on grass, and last year at Wimbledon Youzhny won the first set in a tiebreak but ended up losing to Federer in 4 sets. Objectively, Federer is not playing as well this year as he did last year, as evinced by his Houdini-like escapes in the two previous rounds against Xavier Malisse in 4 sets and Julien Benneteau in 5-sets. Youzhny on the other hand, by definition, is playing better here than he has previously, since he has never advanced this far in the tournament before. This could be a very tough match for Federer, especially with the prospect of another historic semifinal showdown with defending champion Novak Djokovic to look forward to. Youzhny knows that no one expects him to win, but he definitely has the tools and mental fortitude to achieve the upset if Federer does not play well. I do think Federer will get through (who would bet against a 16-time champion on his favorite surface?) but it will be quite difficult. PREDICTION: Federer.

David Ferrer ESP (7) vs. Andy Murray GBR (4). This is a repeat of a quarterfinal matchup at the French Open from a few weeks ago where the Spaniard dirt baller demolished his higher ranked British opponent. However, this  match will be at Wimbledon where Ferrer is playing in his 1st ever quarterfinal after having manhandled an opponent a full foot taller than he is while Murray is attempting to reach his 4th consecutive semifinal. This should be the most interesting match of the quarterfinal round; t he two are actually evenly matched in their career head-to-head at 5-all with Ferrer winning all 4 clay court meetings and Murray winning 5 of their 6 hard court clashes. They have never met on grass before, and one would have to give Murray an edge because he has hometown advantage and he has the bigger serve, which grass rewards. But later in the tournament Wimbledon's grass in recent years has been playing more like a clay court, which partially explains Rafael Nadal success here. This year, however, the weather has not cooperated to bake the lawns into something resembling the dirt of Roland Garros. In addition, if it does rain and the roof is closed then an indoor court would also give Murray an advantage, who is on a historic quest to end the decades-long absence of Briton in the finals of Wimbledon. With the Spaniard who had reached his last six Wimbledon finals now missing from the tournament due to an unfortunate 2nd round meeting with a Czech thunderbolt, Murray should be able to ride the hopes of a nation to his date with destiny on the final Sunday. PREDICTION: Murray. 

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga FRA (5) vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber GER (27).  Germans have been doing well at Wimbledon for decades, with greats like Steffi Graf and Boris Becker etching their names into the record books and memories of tennis fans around the world. Since Graf's last appearance here more than a decade ago German tennis went through a sever drought which appears to be ending. A full one-quarter of all the quarterfinalists in the men's and women's draws were from Deutschland this year (Angelique Kerber, Sabine Lisicki, Florian Mayer and Kohlschreiber). Tsonga has only lost once against Kohlschreiber, and that was several years ago. If a 6-time major Wimbledon champion couldn't win a Wimbledon quarterfinal match against the Frenchman last  year despite being two sets up, what chance does a 1st time Wimbledon quarterfinalist have? Exactly. PREDICTION: Tsonga. 

2012 Wimbledon Day 8: Magical Day Marred By Rain

AP

The second Monday at Wimbledon is widely regarded as the best day in tennis all year long. All 32 players left in the draw at this halfway point in the tournament are scheduled to play their 4th round matches on this day, 8 men's matches and 8 women's matches. The winners are rewarded with quarterfinal berths at the most prestigious tournament in the world.

Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate to allow all the matches to be completed today. Happily, all the women's matches were able to be completed, with Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka(2), Aggie Radwanska(3), Petra Kvitova(4), Angelique Kerber(8) and Maria Kirilenko(17) to win as expected. However, the #1 seed and 2011 Wimbledon finalist Maria Sharapova(1) was upset by Sabine Lisicki(15).

On the men's side only 3 matches were able to be completed, in the top half of the draw: Novak Djokovic(1) dismissed countryman Victor Troicki, Roger Federer(3) was able to survive an injury scare to extend his winning streak over Xavier Malisse to 10 in a row to reach his 33rd consecutive major quarterfinal. Federer's opponent will be Mikhail Youzhny(26) who survived a 5-set showdown with Dennis Istomin of Uzebkistan to reach his first Wimbledon quarterfinal after losing 6 4th round encounters.

Match of the Day: S. Lisicki GER (15) d. M. Sharapova RUS (1) 6-4 6-3.

Nadal Beat By Kohlschreiber; Federer Survives Raonic

AFP PHOTO / CARMEN JASPERSEN

AFP PHOTO / CARMEN JASPERSEN

Just days after winning his record 7th French Open title, World #2 Rafael Nadal was upset in the quarterfinals of the Gerry Weber Open grasscourt tournament in Halle, Germany by defending champion (and native son) Philip Kohlschreiber 6-3 6-4.

In another quarterfinal, Roger Federer keps his hopes of a 6th title in Halle alive by surviving a 3rd set tiebreak against big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic 6-7(4) 6-4 7-6(3). Federer will face Mikhail Youzhny in one semifinal while Kohlschreiber faces the winner of the showdown between Tomas Berdych and Tommy Haas.

I smell a Federer-Berdych final on Sunday...

US OPEN 2010: Men's Final Preview

Rafael Nadal ESP (1) vs. Novak Djokovic SRB (3). 

This unexpected final between the 24-year-old World #1 and the 23-year-old World #3 (the once and future World #2) is a harbinger of the future of tennis. It was set up by Djokovic's ability to defeat 290year-old Roger Federer for the first time at the US Open, 5-7 6-1 5-7 6-2 7-5, in one of the most tension-filled matches of the year. Much will be said about the passing of the guard at the top of the tennis heap with Federer's absence in a US Open final for the first time since 2003(!), when Andy Roddick won his sole major title. The same thing could have been (and was, by some) said last year when 21-year-old, 6'5" Juan Martin del Potro outlasted Federer last year.

But what about this year? Rafael Nadal is playing the best tennis anyone has ever seen him play on a hard court. He has held serve 79 of 81 times. He is serving regularly in the 130 mph zone, volleying impressively and possesses blistering shots on both the forehand and backhand wings. Oh, and he plays every single point like it is match point but if he loses it, he has a preternatural ability to ignore what just happened and play the next point in exactly the same way, like it's his last point on earth. And he can maintain that intensity for hours.

Who can beat him? Novak Djokovic can, and has. Although Nadal has a 14-7 edge over the Serbian in career matchups (and exactly the same 14-7 career edge over Federer), Djokovic has a 7-3 edge on hard courts. Nadal has 4-0 edge in finals (on hard, clay and grass surfaces) and 3-0 edge in grand slam matches (all played in Paris). However, although the Serbian has already lost and won a major final, he can not match Nadal's experience of having won 8 and lost 2. Although this will be Rafa's first New York final (a place I honestly never thought he would ever get to), it is Novak's second. However, it is exceedingly unlikely Novak can beat Roger Federer one day and Rafael Nadal the next day. (Who does he think he is, Juan Martin del Potro?)

MadProfessah's prediction: Nadal.

US OPEN 2010: Men's Semifinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the men's semifinals at the US Open for 2010. I previously correctly predicted 4 of 4 men's quarterfinals. 

Roger Federer SUI (2) vs. Novak Djokovic SRB (3). For the fourth year in a row, Roger Federer must defeat Novak Djokovic to reach the final of the US Open. Three of their four meetings have been in the semifinals in New York, and it should not be forgotten that the Serb is the last person to beat the Swiss player at this stage in a grand slam, at the 2008 Australian Open. Federer leads their career head-to-head 10-5 (8-4 on hard courts) and should be expected to win again. However, it's unlikely to be easy. Although Djokovic has only ever won set against Federer in New York and lost 12, but almost every set has been very close including 3 tiebreak sets. Djokovic will probably not be affected by a partisan New York crowd rooting for his defeat and a mouth-watering Nadal-Federer final; he beat Roger in the final of his own tournament in his hometown of Basel last year. That win was indoors, and it is very likely that the conditions will become a factor on Saturday. So far, Federr has been the player to take the most advantage of the difficult conditions of anyone in the draw. PREDICTION: Federer in 3 or 4 sets or Djokovic in 5 sets.

Rafael Nadal ESP (1) vs. Stanislas Wawrinka SUI (25) Mikhail Youzhny RUS (12). Nadal has been playing some of his best tennis, ever, in New York, especially his serve which has now improved to the point where the Spaniard is regularly reaching 130 mph. He has now become the player least likely to have their service broken. Nadal did well to dismiss Fernando Verdasco in straight sets in the quarterfinals and has yet to lose a set in the tournament. Youzhny has a lost at least one set ni every round he has played here, except for a straight set first round victory. Surprisingly, Youzhny has quite a good record against Nadal, with 4 wins to 7 losses (4 to 3 on hard courts) and has a notable victory over Nadal at the U.S. Open, having beaten the then-20-year-old Spaniard in 4-sets in the 2006 Quarterfinals. However, neither player is the same player they were four years ago, with both having improved tremendously. Nadal is now the #1 player in the world and riding a 19 grand-slam match winning streak, while Youzhny is just out of the Top 10 at #14 in the world. The Russian played a grueling 5-set match to dispose of Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarters and has demonstrated that he is not intimidated by any opponent. The question does he have the game to prevent the most anticipated match in tennis history? Doubtful.  PREDICTION: Nadal (in 4 sets). 

FRENCH OPEN 2010: Men's Quarterfinals Preview

Here are my predictions for the men's quarterfinals at Roland Garros in 2010.

Roger Federer SUI (1) vs. Robin Soderling SWE (5). This quarterfinal is a repeat of last year's final, which Federer won relatively easily in straight sets. Although Soderling has not beaten Federer in an official ATP Tour match in 12 tries, he did beat the World #1 at an exhibition earlier this year in Abu Dhabi and having beaten Rafael Nadal in what some people call the greatest upset ever, the tall, powerful Swede knows he has the game to end Federer's jawdropping streak of 23 consecutive major semifinals. In fact, this match is very important to Federer, not only due to the semifinals streak, but also because he needs to win it in order to be certain that he will break Pete Sampras' record of 286 weeks at #1 before Wimbledon. Federer has yet to drop a set in Paris this year, but I am sure that he will take the challenge posed by Soderling seriously, even though the 6'4", 195-pound ballcrusher has only ever won two tie-break sets against him. After all, it is very possible to never lose your serve and still lose the match! Some say that Federer is losing his edge now that he is a husband, father and broken the major singles title record. I disagree, even though the fact that Federer has already lost 6 matches this year (to Nadal, Tomas Berdych, Ernests Gulbis, Marcos Baghdatis, Albert Montanes, and Nikolay Davydenko). Regardless, I think that there is an inexorable march towards another Nadal-Federer final. PREDICTION: Federer in 4 sets.

Tomas Berdych CZE (15) vs. Mikhail Youzhny RUS (11). Berdych has been playing really well this year, and made a huge mental breakthrough by finally ending his losing streak against Roger Federer earlier this year in Miami. He has been demolishing his way through the draw, not dropping a set despite playing good clay court players like John Isner and Andy Murray. Youzhny got lucky in the previous round since an injured Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was forced to retire after losing the first set. Although head-to-head Youzhny leads Berdych 6-4 in career ATP matches, I believe the in-form Czech will take out the (un)lucky Russian. PREDICTION: Berdych in 4 sets.

Jurgen Melzer AUT (22) Teimuraz Gabashvili RUS vs. Novak Djokovic SRB (3). Gabashvili blew Andy Roddick off the court in the 3rd round in straight sets, blasting forehands into the corners of the court and defly handing the American's deflated serve easily. However, he was unable to repeat this performance on the clay against the wily lefty veteran Melzer, who like Samantha Stosur on the women's side, had previously experienced success and fame on the doubles court and used that to build confidence on the singles court. Melzer was one of the few Top 30 players never to reach the fourth round of a major, and now he finds himself in a quarter playing Djokovic. The World #3 has had mental lapses in the second set in three of the four matches he has played at Roland Garros this year. If that happens again, perhaps Melzer can find a way to win the resulting best-of-3 match. All the pressure will be on the higher ranked player to reach a 3rd semifinal against Nadal, who took out the Serb in that round in 2007 and 2008. Roland Garros 2010 is looking like a replay of those years, with another Nadal-Federer final. PREDICTION:Djokovic in 4 sets.

Nicolas Almagro ESP (19) Fernando Verdasco ESP (7)vs.Rafael Nadal ESP (2). The Verdasco and Nadal played one of the best matches of the year (probably of the decade) in the semifinals of the 2009 Australian Open, a five-hour, thrilling slugfest that both competitors were ennobled simply by their participation, although of course there was only one winner (Nadal). Almagro dashed hopes for a reprise of that thrilling Melbourne showdown by taking out Verdasco in four sets. Although Almagro has never beaten Nadal on any surface in 6 attempts, he did start off the match very strong when they played the Madrid Masters semifinal. It is beyond belief that Almagro could maintain that level of play over 5 sets in Paris when he could not do it for 2 sets in Madrid. PREDICTION: Nadal in 3 sets.

Berdych Upsets Federer in Miami

Tomas Berdych beat World #1 Roger Federer 6-4 6-7(3) 7-6(6) in the 4th round of the Sony Ericsson Open after midnight on Tuesday night, saving a match point, after being up a service break in the third set. The Czech player had last beaten Federer at the Athens Olympics but lost 8 consecutive matches in a row to the 16-time major champion.

In addition to Berdych, the remaining quarterfinalists in the tournament are Andy Roddick, Rafael Nadal, Robin Soderling, Nicolas Almagro, Fernando Verdasco, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Mikhail Youzhny.

Youzhny Beats Himself Bloody

Hat tip to Greg Hernandez at Out in Hollywood for the video if Russian tennis star Mikhail Youzhny who hits himself 3 times inthe head with a racket after making an unforced error near the end of his match at the Sony Ericsson Open.