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Wimbledon 2015: Men’s semifinals preview

By Melanie Schumilas

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The top four seeds were poised to fulfill their preordained places in the semifinals, but one outlier had different plans for Wimbledon. Let’s take a closer look at the last four men standing at this prestigious Grand Slam.

Novak Djokovic (1) v. Richard Gasquet (21)

21st-seeded Gasquet threw a wrench in the draw by overcoming fourth-seeded Stan Wawrinka in a blockbuster five setter in the battle of the one-handed backhands. The Frenchman has shown incredible nerves of steel throughout the tournament as he toppled 11th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov and the always-feisty 26th-seeded Nick Kyrgios en route to his second career Wimbledon semifinal appearance.

First-seeded Djokovic barely escaped from 14th-seeded Kevin Anderson’s massive serve and tactically aggressive play in the round of 16. The Serbian was down two sets-to-love and eventually clawed his way back to make up the difference before play was suspended due to darkness.

Jul 8, 2015; London, United Kingdom; Novak Djokovic (SRB) celebrates recording match point in his match against Marin Cilic (CRO) on day nine of The Championships Wimbledon at the AELTC. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

The duo were back on court less than 24 hours later for a final set showdown in which Djokovic showed the mental and physical strength of a Grand Slam champion (albeit a little testy at times) as Anderson seemingly choked on extremely crucial points. The eight-time slam champion got the critical break at 5-5 and closed out the set 7-5.

Djokovic’s quarterfinal match against another towering man, ninth-seeded Marin Cilic, went much more to plan for the reigning Wimbledon champion. The match was quickly decided in less than two hours in straight sets.

I’m sure Djokovic let out a massive sigh of relief after Wawrinka’s shocking loss to Gasquet. Just a few weeks ago, “Stan the man” stunned the world No. 1 in the French Open final, putting an end to Djokovic’s impressive 28-match win streak.

Frankly, Djokovic is blessed to face Gasquet in the semifinals. The father of one holds a staggering 11-1 head-to-head lead over him and he hasn’t lost a match – or even a set – to the Frenchman since 2007. Just mere weeks ago at the French Open, Djokovic brutally humiliated Gasquet in the round of 16, only dropping six games en route to the win.

Unless Djokovic has the biggest choke of all time or his arms fall off mid-match, all signs point to the world No. 1 making his third consecutive Grand Slam final.

Roger Federer (2) v. Andy Murray (3)

Second-seeded Federer has been in impeccable form all tournament, only dropping one set en route to his 10th career Wimbledon semifinal.

Murray has also fared similarly easy results at his “home” stage. The 2013 Wimbledon champion has only dropped two sets thus far and one of the lost sets was a clear fluke as he dominated his opponent, 25th-seeded Andreas Seppi, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 the rest of the match.

The two are meeting for the 24th time after breezing through their quarterfinal matches in straight sets. Federer narrowly leads the third seed in the duo’s head-to-head record 12-11. While the Swiss maestro leads 4-1 in Grand Slam matches, the pair are tied 1-1 on grass, which makes this match increasingly unpredictable.

Winning Halle has given me the extra confidence I guess it’s going to take me to win this title [At Wimbledon] -Roger Federer

The seven-time Wimbledon champion said he felt more prepared for Wimbledon this year than in the past after winning a record-setting eighth title at Halle in the weeks prior to the third major of the year. This year’s extra week of grass court preparation has evidently worked in favor for the grass court specialist.

Murray has also been on an unstoppable tear prior to Wimbledon. He has lost only one match since getting married in April and has gathered quite the unrelenting momentum over the past weeks, winning three titles en route to the grass court major.

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Look, I could slice and dice statistics for you all day long, but ultimately there is no clear winner for this thrilling semifinal match-up. I would love to see Federer in his second consecutive Wimbledon final, but he’ll have to summon his greatest grass court form against a recently unbeatable Murray.

Who are your picks for these blockbuster semifinal matches?

Next: Wimbledon 2015 - Analysing the Semi-Finalsits

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