The second Monday of Wimbledon is upon us and no matter what court you watch today your sure to find tennis of the highest quality. With all the fourth round men's and women's matches being played today we've got plenty to look forward to and I'm going to preview some of the top matches starting with a quick run through of the order of play. First up in Centre Court is Roger Federer, who survived a close five set match on Friday, and today he takes on Belgian Xavier Malisse. Following that game two stars of the women's game face off as Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka meets Serbian Ana Ivanovic. Two more Serbs as Novak Djokovic takes on countryman Victor Troicki in what is expected to be the final match on Centre. However, with showers expected throughout the day we could see a match moved from an outside court into Centre under the roof. Court 1 contains three high quality matches too as favourite for the title and world number one Maria Sharapova meets talented German Sabine Lisicki in a repeat of last years semi final. Marin Cilic, involved in the second longest match in Wimbledon history on Saturday, takes on Andy Murray in the second match on Court 1 and finally, David Ferrer and Juan Martin Del Potro meet in what looks to be an intriguing clash. Court 2 sees Serena Williams take on Yaroslava Shvedova, Agnieszka Radwanska plays qualifier Camila Giorgi and then Mardy Fish takes on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. On Court 3 defending champion Petra Kvitova faces Italian Francesca Schiavone, Kim Clijsters takes on Angelique Kerber and Richard Gasquet meets Florian Mayer. Court 12 has got Tamira Paszek and Roberta Vinci, Maria Kirlenko and Shuai Peng and finally, Brian Baker and Philip Kohlschreiber wrap up proceedings on Court 12 while Mikhail Youzhny and Denis Istomin play on Court 17.
So starting with that Roger Federer and Xavier Malisse game and this should be an entertaining match. Malisse is a talented grass court player and has been impressive so far. He faced a tough opener against big serving Marinko Matosevis but came through with ease and then had brilliant wins over 13th seed Gilles Simon and then 17th seed Fernando Verdasco. Facing Federer will be a different challenge for him but not a new challenge. They met at Wimbledon in 2001 when the Swiss star came through in five tight sets. Federer leads the head to head 9-1 but many of their encounters came a decade ago and were tight affairs and I think Malisse might just give Federer a scare here. The Belgian is generally a more counter punching player but I expect him to be more aggressive and take the game to the six time Wimbledon champion. It should be a quality match but I would expect Federer to come through in four, maybe five sets but an upset wouldn't be totally out of the question.
Novak Djokovic should have a much more comfortable time when he takes to the court against Victor Troicki. I expect this to be a relatively straight forward game for the defending champion and he should come through in three sets. I've watched Troicki on a number of occasions and been impressed but when he faces players in the top ten he looks like a very average player. He plays very defensively against the top players and he's nowhere near good enough to get away with that game and that's why Djokovic is going to pick him apart here. Djokovic will be looking to conserve energy with tough meetings coming up later this week and I expect him to be firing on all cylinders today.
An interesting match in the women's draw takes place on Centre Court as Ana Ivanovic takes on Victoria Azarenka. Both players have had very contrasting but good seasons so far. Ivanovic has been on the rise again following a dramatic fall from the top of the game in the past few years but this season she's been back at her best and seems to be playing some of the tennis that saw her lift the French Open in 2008. Azarenka, on the other hand, has hit the heights of the sport having lifted her first Grand Slam in Australia and has been in great form this year. I think this one will be high entertainment as both players are very fit and move around the court well but I think Azarenka will have too much power for Ivanovic on these grass courts and should be able to progress. Ivanovic will look to take time away from the Belarussian and force mistakes out of her but I'm not sure that's a winning tactic against Azarenka these days.
The most intriguing of the day's matches has to be match between Kim Clijsters and Angelique Kerber. Kerber has been the most improved player of the year by a country mile this season. She's improved her serve and her ground strokes are now carrying more pace and she's become a dominant player on the tour. She's played super so far here at Wimbledon and only for the fact that she's run into Clijsters I would think she could go all the way. Having said that if she managed to beat Clijsters then I wouldn't rule out her chances of winning the title here. Clijsters, though, is a player on a mission and will not be stopped easily. It's her final year here at Wimbledon and her final chance to win the title here where she's never been successful. It would be one of the finest moments of her fine career as she's made no secret of her want to win here. She's been sensational in her opening three rounds and playing some stunning tennis in the process. I expect Clijsters to win this one although she might just drop her first set of the tournament.
Mardy Fish and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will be a very very tight match. It could be straight sets either way but every point will be planned out and every shot will have a purpose. Tsonga is such an enigmatic player he becomes a crowd favourite everywhere and often draws on that support to produce his best tennis. Fish has had some heart problems in recent months which is a huge shame to him and to tennis fans. He is such a joy to watch on the court especially on a hard court or grass court. His aggressive style makes him so difficult to play against and I expect him to really take it to Tsonga today. In the opening few rounds it looked as though Fish was in big trouble but he has turned it around and his last match against Goffin was an example of how brilliant he can be. Fish will serve and volley alot today and make Tsonga have to hit winners to beat him and I think that strategy will be good enough today. Tsonga may be instilled as the favourite for this one but I think Fish is capable of causing the upset and it would be nice to see a guy who has worked incredibly hard in the past few years go deep into the second week. Last year was the best of Mardy's tennis career and a win here would see him face Kohlschreiber or Baker for a semi final spot. I tipped Fish to have a good week at the beginning of the tournament and I fancy him to edge this one in probably four or five sets.
Juan Martin Del Potro and David Ferrer play each other for a quarter final place in what should be a very entertaining match. Ferrer has been very good so far in his opening three matches especially in his dismantling of Andy Roddick on Saturday. His game will be tested to the limit against his Argentine opponent who has been imperious at times himself. Del Potro wasn't given a strong chance at the beginning of the tournament due to his lack of movement but I think he makes up for it in his shot making ability. I like the way he's adapted to the grass and I think he has a great chance to go all the way and pick up his second Grand Slam. He's been aggressive in his opening three games and has hit through his opponents and was very impressive against Nishikori on Saturday. This one has potential go very deep into a fifth set as both players leave no points behind them and fight for everything on court. I think Del Potro will get through this one and it will depend on how well he plays whether he can win it in three or four sets.
Finally back to the story of the American Brian Baker who continues his incredible comeback and fairytale run here at Wimbledon when he takes on German Philip Kohlschreiber. Kohlschreiber is the man benefitting from Rafa Nadal's exit and that has allowed him to reach the second week here. This match is going to be a good one as both players are creative shot makers and I would expect to see alot of long rallies with plenty of winners. I like the German's grass court game and I think he can trouble some of the top players on the surface which we saw in Halle when he beat Nadal a few weeks back. I think the key to this game will be the backhand crosscourt exchanges and who can come out on top in that battle. Both players are strong off that wing and I think to win that exchange one of the two will need to be creative playing other shots to open up the short ball to attack. I would expect some serve and volley play from both at times and if one can be very successful they might find a winning play from that tactic. Baker has been phenomenal so far this year in what he's accomplished and it would be magnificent to see him go another step at least. I think Baker will find the inspiration needed to get through this one and reach what would be an unbelievable quarter final for him.
So there you have my take on some of the fourth round matches taking place today, weather permitting of course. The final match I will cover is going to be the Andy Murray and Marin Cilic match which will be in a separate post in about a little while.
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