Roger's Cup (Men's Singles Quarter finals)
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ATP Results
Quarter-finals Narrow the Field
Only four men remain in the hunt for the 2008 Rogers Cup singles title as Friday's quarter-final action cut the draw in half once again.
The first match of the day was a clash of two Cinderella stories between Frenchman Gilles Simon and Croat Marin Cilic. The six-foot-six Cilic jumped out to an early lead in the first set, overpowering his smaller opponent with his big serve, and was able to close out the set. However, Cilic's weapon began to fail him – he got only 42 per cent of his first serves in – and it allowed Simon to get back into the contest. From there, it was all the Frenchman as he won 12 of the last 17 games to win the match by a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 score.
The other matinee match was not nearly as competitive as Nicolas Kiefer crushed James Blake to reach the semifinals of this event for the second time in his career. The German veteran has struggled with injuries for a long time but on this day he showed the form that once saw him rise to No. 4 in the world rankings, dropping only three games throughout the match to win 6-1, 6-2. Despite the loss, Blake's appearance in the quarter-finals was a career-best performance at the Rogers Cup.
Kicking off the night session were No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic (Serbia) and No. 8 Andy Murray (Murray). The defending champion never really seemed to be able to find his groove as he fell down a set and a break. He was able to rebound in the second to get it back on serve but then couldn't hold on in the tiebreak, eventually falling 3-6, 6-7(3). To his credit, Murray was spectacular from start to finish, chasing down everything that was hit at him and pressuring Djokovic to make costly errors.
Facing Murray in the second semi on Saturday will be world No. 2 Rafael Nadal. The talented Spaniard booked his spot in the round of four with a thrilling three-set victory over Frenchman Richard Gasquet on Friday night in front of a packed crowd. Nadal had to battle hard in the first set as Gasquet would not go away, coming back from a break down on two separate occasions and then winning 14 points in the tiebreak to take the opening set in more than an hour. However, it was all Nadal the rest of the way as he punctuated the night with a 6-7(12), 6-2, 6-1 triumph.
Both semifinal matches will be played on Centre Court on Saturday.
The first match of the day was a clash of two Cinderella stories between Frenchman Gilles Simon and Croat Marin Cilic. The six-foot-six Cilic jumped out to an early lead in the first set, overpowering his smaller opponent with his big serve, and was able to close out the set. However, Cilic's weapon began to fail him – he got only 42 per cent of his first serves in – and it allowed Simon to get back into the contest. From there, it was all the Frenchman as he won 12 of the last 17 games to win the match by a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 score.
The other matinee match was not nearly as competitive as Nicolas Kiefer crushed James Blake to reach the semifinals of this event for the second time in his career. The German veteran has struggled with injuries for a long time but on this day he showed the form that once saw him rise to No. 4 in the world rankings, dropping only three games throughout the match to win 6-1, 6-2. Despite the loss, Blake's appearance in the quarter-finals was a career-best performance at the Rogers Cup.
Kicking off the night session were No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic (Serbia) and No. 8 Andy Murray (Murray). The defending champion never really seemed to be able to find his groove as he fell down a set and a break. He was able to rebound in the second to get it back on serve but then couldn't hold on in the tiebreak, eventually falling 3-6, 6-7(3). To his credit, Murray was spectacular from start to finish, chasing down everything that was hit at him and pressuring Djokovic to make costly errors.
Facing Murray in the second semi on Saturday will be world No. 2 Rafael Nadal. The talented Spaniard booked his spot in the round of four with a thrilling three-set victory over Frenchman Richard Gasquet on Friday night in front of a packed crowd. Nadal had to battle hard in the first set as Gasquet would not go away, coming back from a break down on two separate occasions and then winning 14 points in the tiebreak to take the opening set in more than an hour. However, it was all Nadal the rest of the way as he punctuated the night with a 6-7(12), 6-2, 6-1 triumph.
Both semifinal matches will be played on Centre Court on Saturday.
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