Were now at the quarter final stage of the Shanghai Masters 1000 event and the standard of tennis is getting better each day. Today we saw some great tennis from some of the world's very best. Novak Djokovic was once again in great form as he dispatched Feliciano Lopez with ease today but world number one Roger Federer was made to work for his victory over compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka. It was a tense second set where Wawrinka certainly had his chances but Roger stood strong and took the win comfortably in the third to secure a sensational 300th week as world number one. Third seed Andy Murray had a straight forward win over Aleksandr Dolgopolov to book his place in the quarter finals while fourth seed Tomas Berdych also made it through. The performance of the day was certainly from 34 year old Tommy Haas who demolished world number nine Janko Tipsarevic to continue his fantastic season. So on now to tomorrow's quarter finals with four exciting matches taking place.
First up is the clash between two London hopefuls. Tomas Berdych and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga have both firmly established themselves as top ten players and both have threatened to break into the top four in the past few months. Of the two I think Tsonga will always be just below the level required to win majors while Berdych needs to improve his mentality a little more to make it to the very top. These two have met twice before and both meetings were last year and they shared the spoils with one win each. Tsonga was in the final in Beijing last week but was well below the standard you have to be at in a final. Berdych has made great strides this year and I think he is at a stage where he believes he can beat the very best on a regular basis. His match with Sam Querrey was interesting to watch. In the past he would have struggled in that third set when Querrey put him under real pressure but instead he pushed on and took the game into his own hands. Coming through that game will do wonders for him this week and I think he will carry on his winning run tomorrow. Berdych in two tight sets.
Next up is Andy Murray who will be surprised to face Radek Stepanek at this stage. The Czech player has beaten Richard Gasquet and John Isner this week and is playing some great tennis right now. The problem I see him having against Murray is that very often he plays a consistent game which against Murray is the last thing you want to do. In their previous meetings Murray has won four out of five and the four he won were comfortable wins so clearly Stepanek needs to do something different. He beat Andy in Paris in 2009 and that day he mixed up his game really well. He played consistent at the right times and he attacked at the right times. I would expect to see him take the ball very early and approach the net a lot tomorrow to try take time away from Murray and disrupt his rhythm. I see it working for a while but Murray will prevail in the end. Murray in three.
The most interesting match of tomorrow is the third match on the stadium court between two men in great form, Novak Djokovic and Tommy Haas. Djokovic has been sensational since getting back on to the hard courts in August. I really like the way he is playing and I think it could be a sign of what is to come next season. Watching him last week in Beijing and this week in Shanghai he is playing with a real confidence and he looks almost unbeatable at the moment and remembering what he done last time he played his best tennis. His opponent tomorrow may be 34 now but he has played some incredible tennis this season and currently has a 10-3 record against top 15 players this season. These two have met five times with Djokovic leading the head to head 3-2 including a win this Summer in Toronto. I remember watching that match and it was one of my favourite matches of the year as both players played sensationally and I anticipate something similar tomorrow. These two will entertain the crowd with their play tomorrow and I think Haas will really force Novak to play his best. Haas has produced his best when he's been the underdog and he plays with a sense of freedom. My heart say's Haas but I'll give Djokovic a slight nod but don't be surprised if we see an upset. Djokovic in three.
The final match sees world number one Roger Federer and Marin Cilic go head to head for a semi final spot. Cilic is still looking to end the year on a high and reach the world finals in London and a win here would really boost his chances. He will take confidence from the performance Wawrinka gave today but it will take a huge performance from the Croatian to overcome Federer. Their three meetings have been won by the Swiss and only once has Cilic won a set. Cilic has to come out and take the game into his own hands tomorrow and dictate the play. To do that he needs to play at a high level throughout the match and I'm not sure he has that in him. He played stunning against Andy Murray in New York for two sets and then completely fell apart and lost his game. Nothing but his best will do tomorrow and although he is capable I don't think we'll see enough of it. Federer will be looking forward to possibly meeting Andy Murray in the semi finals and won't allow Cilic get in the way of that. Federer in two.
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