Very much looking forward to this one!

Predict that Federer will win:

6-4, 7-5, 6-3

Assuming that Gasquet is not too fatigued from his epic with Roddick yesterday, I see him winning this one. There's no real pressure on him and hopefully he can reproduce the form that saw him take the last 3 sets against Roddick. If he does, he should win in straight sets, possibly dropping the first.

must be horrible for jimmy to commentate on this match. richard broke his heart yesterday.

I'd like to see Federer serve & volley a bit more, if he did that, he could take Gasquet out with ease. But who am I to dispute the tactics of the mighty Swiss? :D

Fed forehand starting to shift into gear. When he does that, and Gasquet slices it back, I want to see Roger in that net at 100 mph!

Give Gasquet something to worry about - let him know he can't block returns, even when he's on the defensive, he NEEDS to come out with a winner.

If Federer serve volleyed, he'd be torn apart because his volleys simply aren't up to scratch. Gasquet on the other hand should certainly vary things up with some S&V because he has the net skills to carry it off.

It's a shame the Frenchman took 2 and a half sets before he decided to play properly against Roddick; fatigue will probably play a big part today. Gasquet has just staved off a break point at 1-2.

I don't think he should s&v consistently, but when he hits almost unreturnables, he should be at the net to ask questions of Gasquet. (he just did that in the last game - and it works)

Gasquet can't be that tired? Novak Djokovic yes, he's played about 10 hours tennis over two days, but surely Gasquet can deal with one 5 set match?


**early break from Novak, 2-0 up

Pete Sampras would have relished a match up against Gasquet, he would have smothered him with his s&v. Exactly what you need to finish this kind of match early.

No, one of the many problems which hasn't deserted Gasquet this week is that he's not the fittest. If this one goes the distance, Federer's favourite, which is why Gasquet needs to not get sloppy and close it out quickly. It's 4-3 to the Swiss on serve at the moment.

Not sure what you mean about unreturnables - if the return barely makes it over the net, Federer should be able to put it away with an easy groundstroke rather than risk making a hash of the volley.

Surprised to see Djoko going so well - you've got to assume he'll run out of steam. There were reports he might not even play that match.

What I mean is that Federer often makes very good attacking forehands, which hit the corners, and have people on the run. They get the ball back, but he waits to hit another from the ground. He should be in the net, closing the point out.

Encouraging to see Djokovic going so well, I really think he's one of the very few players who is unphased by Nadal.

Amazing, Fed just switching gears now...

Gasquet seems to be playing a little better than Fed right now, just having a break point which would have seen him serve for the first set. Please God dont let him run out of energy. GO GASQUET :yahoo:

The champion roars!
:yahoo:

Oh dear. Gasquet chokes from 40-15 - less of that please, Richard. Still, not entirely a surprise, it's how he reacts to it that counts. Neither man played great tennis in the first set, but I expect the Frenchman's level to go up soon.

I truly believe it's Federer who is not in gear yet.

Novak takes the first set!!

Federer's not even out of second gear, still manages to take the set .What a champion . :bow:
Ist set Novak :D

The Fed v Gasquet match seems dissappointingly flat. I was expecting Gasquet to get a set today, at least take it to breakers. They are a closer match than many seem to think. C'mon Richard let's hot this match up. :D

Novak :clap: See you in 4 set's time!

where is he in your choke league Wise? :rolleyes: Damn Roddick for letting him through to cower like this :angry:

Nadal 3-0 up in the second :yahoo: :yahoo:

Novak looks injured - he's limping.

Gasquet's always been second only to the mighty James Blake in the ACP rankings.

To be honest, even if Gasquet continues to flounder and choke, I don't care that he knocked out Roddick - Roddick's useless, and would definitely have lost today. At least there's the element of unpredictability about Gasquet; if he can rediscover yesterday's form, he will win. Sadly it's looking a bit less likely now.

.

Glad to see the inspiring James hasn't been usurped.

Federer has found his groove here - as you say, Wise, Roddick and Federer are two very different propositions.

Ah, Gasquet is injured. That would explain his below par performance. :(

And Djokovic is also carrying an injury against Nadal - he started so brightly too. What a shame both matches had to be influenced this way. Looks like another Federer vs Nadal final then.

i'm unconvinced by the use of the trainer by gasquet and djokovic. novak has a blister on his little toe for god's sake. imo that's a blatant ploy to check the momentum of rafa.

Didn't Connors and Greg say that the first set was the best they had seen Gasquet play?!

Does look like another Roger vs Rafa final. Shame that Novak got breadsticked; he probably shouldn't have played, but I admire his tenacity.

Didn't hear that. Heard Rusedski just say that Gasquet's movement was hampered in the first set due to his ankle injury though.

Gasquet might still be able to win this if he can just shorten the points.

god novak, you're so talented but you're such a sneak.

I just saw Djokovics blister, and it actually looks pretty painful and nasty. :wacko:

I don't see Gasquet coming back from this, Wise. Roddick has serious limitations that Gasquet could exploit from 2 sets down, I am not sure the same can be said for Federer.

Gasquet turning to a weak serve and volley game, but Federer has all the passing shots covered.

looks like rafa has novak now. the serb looks exhausted.

what an anti climax these mens semis are :( lets hope Venus makes up for it :)

Pretty impressive prediction there :ok: Looks like it'll be pretty much spot on, with a little bit of rearranging. ;)

The key was probably 5-5, 15-40 - Federer saved the break points and never looked back. Maybe if Gasquet had taken one, it would have been him who never looked back. In the end though, his ankle injury proved telling. :(

How's Rafa getting on?

ne set all, Rafa with a break in the third :)

Rafa is up 3-1 in the third set. I am bit disappointed - I'd like to have seen a fully fighting fit Novak take the game to Nadal more.

For all this talk of Nadal having a tough ride, he's faced two off form opponents and one who choked as soon as they made eye contact!!

GSM Federer! I got the three set bit right!!

"Consummate performance from the champ"

:bow:

novak has retired! i take it all back.

How disappointing :(

We could see his movement was impaired - he can't limp around against Nadal, you've got to be 100% on your game to face him.

Poor Novak - Nadal consoling him there.

So, a repeat of last years final!!!

Absolute drivel. He's had to cope with ridiculously inept scheduling, a tough protracted match with Soderling, and he then beat 3 hard court nemeses in 3 days! (Djoko has just pulled out :( ). Youzhny was not off form, Berdych clearly wasn't, since he'd never reached a Grand Slam QF before, although obviously Djokovic was injured.

Nadal deserves immense praise for reaching the final again this year against all the odds - a lot of eggs on a lot of faces, I feel. :D

Well those were damp squibs of semi finals :angry: The result of too many matches in too few days. Crap scheduling to blame for this, v unfortunate for Djokovic and Gasquet :( Disappointing.

:cry: :smash:

Really gutted for Gasquet. He didn't have a hope after not finishing until 8 last night. It's a shambles.