Andy Roddick +4
A mouth-watering encounter between the defending champ Djokovic and the quiet achiever of this year's Open, Andy Roddick. I think the American relishes the fact he is no longer a part of the "Big quartet", and is able to go about his business under the radar. In four matches to date, the A-Rod has lost just a single set, whilst producing 63 aces and winning a staggering 83% of first serve points. Throw in a ratio of 1.75 winners to every unforced error, and you have a confident man who is giving very little to his opponents. Novak Djokovic, who entered this tournament with a sketchy formline, was disadvantaged by the Rod Laver Arena schedule yesterday and didn't conclude his match with Baghdatis until 2.30am local time. In years gone past, players who have been up till the wee early hours of the morning have never fared too well in their next matches so this will be a tough ask for the world number three. The Serbian has not looked great this week, but has improved with each match and showed enough signs against the Cypriot that he was returning to something near his best. He has, though, been broken on six occasions so far - he's winning 82% of first serve points, but that ball is only landing in on 66% of the time which will mean Andy has some nice looks at second balls. The A-Rod's second serve is one of the best in the business rivalling Federer, and off the ground he knows he can match it - albeit with a little less flare - with Novak. Three previous meetings favour the Djoker 2-1, all on hard court but the Serb winning their all-important US Open clash late last year. But he's making a lot more errors of late (his ratio just 1.10 winner to every unforced error), the negative body language is a big concern and his stamina is Grand Slams is a much talked-about topic. Roddick should have enough firepower behind the serve and a sufficient net game to pour immense pressure on Nole's service games, and the way he's moving around the court and executing particularly his forehand this week would suggest to me he's extremely good value in what shapes as a classic encounter
A mouth-watering encounter between the defending champ Djokovic and the quiet achiever of this year's Open, Andy Roddick. I think the American relishes the fact he is no longer a part of the "Big quartet", and is able to go about his business under the radar. In four matches to date, the A-Rod has lost just a single set, whilst producing 63 aces and winning a staggering 83% of first serve points. Throw in a ratio of 1.75 winners to every unforced error, and you have a confident man who is giving very little to his opponents. Novak Djokovic, who entered this tournament with a sketchy formline, was disadvantaged by the Rod Laver Arena schedule yesterday and didn't conclude his match with Baghdatis until 2.30am local time. In years gone past, players who have been up till the wee early hours of the morning have never fared too well in their next matches so this will be a tough ask for the world number three. The Serbian has not looked great this week, but has improved with each match and showed enough signs against the Cypriot that he was returning to something near his best. He has, though, been broken on six occasions so far - he's winning 82% of first serve points, but that ball is only landing in on 66% of the time which will mean Andy has some nice looks at second balls. The A-Rod's second serve is one of the best in the business rivalling Federer, and off the ground he knows he can match it - albeit with a little less flare - with Novak. Three previous meetings favour the Djoker 2-1, all on hard court but the Serb winning their all-important US Open clash late last year. But he's making a lot more errors of late (his ratio just 1.10 winner to every unforced error), the negative body language is a big concern and his stamina is Grand Slams is a much talked-about topic. Roddick should have enough firepower behind the serve and a sufficient net game to pour immense pressure on Nole's service games, and the way he's moving around the court and executing particularly his forehand this week would suggest to me he's extremely good value in what shapes as a classic encounter
