Australian Open Day 10: Cruise Control

Don't worry, you'll be backby Kait O'Callahan

A fiery ‘c’mon’ disrupts my reading.  I look up, and refocus on the match in front of me. The yell has come from a dimunitive Italian player, who had been chasing down balls with an unrivaled passion.  I concentrate on her for the next rally.  Her feet move quickly, her grunts are short and sharp, and she works away around the court like a seasoned quarter-finalist.  But she isn’t; she’s Sara Errani, a player that would have won a pre tournament ‘least likely to’ poll.  She’s giving it her all against Petra Kvitova, the 21 year old Wimbledon champion with a game that can be both very on and horribly off.  Today is a mix of the two.  Whilst she’s certainly not playing clean tennis, she’s never really in danger of losing.  Errani may be leaving everything on the court, but it’s never going to be enough.  I return to my newspaper.

Maria Sharapova flicks her head and glares at a line judge.  He’s made a bad call, and Maria has had to stop play to contest it.  It’s about the only challenge she’s faced today; she’s completely dominating Ekaterina Makarova, the other surprise quarter-finalist in the women’s draw.  Her first serves are finding the mark 80% of the time, and her groundstrokes are winning her most of the points.  She not entirely sharp; she does get broken, and there are unforced errors, but she’s looking better than most.  Makarova has nothing to hurt Sharapova with, and doesn’t get in the match.  It’s all on Maria’s racket; just the way she likes it.

“No, he hasn’t won Wimbledon. I think the US Open is his only one,” remarks a woman behind me. The British press will be pleased that not everyone realises Andy Murray is still slamless.  Not that it matters in his quarter-final against Kei Nishikori - Murray’s scoreline is as dominant as his biggest rivals’.  Nishikori is playing a solid match, and appears to find returning just as simple (or difficult) as serving; almost every game goes to deuce in the first two sets.  However, Murray comes up trumps on the big points, and is never truly threatened.  Nishikori has a solid game, and although he lacks any big weapons, he’s consistant and confident enough to ensure this won’t be his only Grand Slam quarter-final.  Perhaps he could have pushed Murray harder had he not had such an exhausting tournament; he looks fatigued, especially in the third set when his legs are visibly tired.  Regardless, Murray is too good and will be fresh heading into his semi-final against Novak Djokovic.

When Andy Murray meets Novak Djokovic in two nights time, it will be a match between two players who ride heavily on confidence.  Djokovic’s mentality, and therefore game, is rocky through his quarter-final match against David Ferrer - a player you simply do not want to be shaky against.  Djokovic starts out thoroughly on top; epic rallies between him and the Spaniard fall the way of the world number one, and it seems Ferrer is in for a clinic of Serbian dominance.  Ferrer clings on - saving numerous break points - but it all seems inevitable as Djokovic takes the first set.  Midway through the second set, Djokovic hits a ball out and clutches at his leg.  He proceeds to lose the game.  We look for signs of a trainer as they go to the changeover, but no one comes.  Rumours of a hamstring injury circulate quickly on Twitter as my brother begins to fret.  Djokvoic’s smile fades and as his mood goes flat, so too does his game.  His box sense trouble and begin to cheer loudly, fist-pumping important points and willing him to hold as he fails to serve out the second set with some passive play.  But as quickly as Djokovic’s mood changed, Ferrer’s hopes are erased.  A telling tiebreak from Ferrer and some inspired play from Djokovic results in the second set going to the favourite.  You can almost hear the sigh of relief from his entourage.  Djokovic begins the third set much in the way he had the first - but this time he converts those break points.  He plays closer to the baseline, goes for his shots, and is no longer grabbing at his leg.  His trainer and coach begin to throw popcorn into each other’s mouths. Novak Djokovic is going through to the semi-finals in straight sets.

Photo: Getty Images

Kait O'Callahan also has her own tennis blog Any Given Surface.  To follow her on Twitter, click here.