Men’s Singles Semi-Finals Preview

It’s semi-finals day in the Men’s Singles at Wimbledon on Friday June 6 and Britain’s best chance for years to roar a native through to the showpiece at SW19.

Andy Murray squares off with Jo-Wilifred Tsonga in the last four and the Scot will start as favourite against the Frenchman in front of a packed partisan crowd on Centre Court.

The draw really opened up for Muzza when nemesis Rafael Nadal was surprisingly knocked out in the second round by Lukasz Rosol however he still had a lot of work to do with a tricky road to the latter stages lying ahead.

Murray overcame the giant Ivo Karlovic however in four sets to reach the last 32 where he accounted for talented Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in a similar result.

The World No.4 really upped his game in the last 16 to defeat Queen’s winner Marin Cilic in straight sets before emerging from an absolute dogfight against Spanish ace David Ferrer in the quarter-finals.

And now, Murray has a real chance of making his first Wimbledon final against world number six Tsonga who he has beaten before at the venue.

A repeat of Murray’s display against Ferrer could well be enough to see him through, nevertheless it remains to be seen how he will cope with the pressure of being fancied to win at a stage where he has so often been the underdog against Nadal.

Murray is a best priced 1/2 to triumph, borderline odds for sure as punters are likely to biting their nails at least once during what should be an enthralling encounter.

Tsonga, like Murray, has a tendency to start crucial matches slowly so it will be extremely interesting to see who can come out of the blocks quickly.

The first set will really be key and Murray will be desperate to draw first blood to assume control and get the raucous Centre Court spectators behind him.

For all that Murray will be the highlight on semi-finals day, Djokovic vs. Federer serves up a real heavyweight affair to add to the drama.

This will be Federer’s first semi-final appearance at SW19 in three years and he will really fancy his chances of lifting a seventh title if he can find a way past the Serbian world number one.

Djokovic has dominated the Grand Slam scene in recent times, moving past Federer and raising the tennis bar to new heights tournament after tournament.

But on Federer’s favourite surface, this could be a really close contest and the Swiss still clearly possesses a wealth of ability and guile as he demonstrated against Mikhail Youzhny in the last eight.

Djokovic will start as the bookmakers’ choice nonetheless and he is 4/9 to progress through to the final.

Federer is 9/4 to upset the applecart and many backers may see that as decent value all things considered.

One thing which is guaranteed is a day packed full of top drawer tennis action and two champagne ties that will be competitive right to the death – with British fingers crossed that it is Murray who emerges victorious.

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04/07/2012     © Frixo 2024