With just eight names
left in the men's draw and four in the women's, we're only a matter of days away
from finding out who will be crowned Wimbledon Champion 2012 in both events.
Novak Djokovic arrived in London as the pre-tournament favourite and
has hardly put a foot wrong so far. An awesome display against fellow Serb Viktor Troicki in the fourth round has booked Novak a spot in the quarters.
He'll meet German 28-year-old Florian Mayer, who was ranked 31 for this event
and has put in some top performances to make it this far. It's Mayer's best run
at SW19 since he reached the same stage back in 2004, but after playing 14 sets
of tennis across his last three matches, it's highly unlikely he'll be able to cause
any serious problems for the world no.1.
Also in Djokovic's side of the draw, and
looking destined for the last four, is Roger Federer. Federer will be concerned
by a couple of off-key performances so far and will definitely be worried about
an injured back. However, he should have enough to defeat Russian Mikhail
Youzhny in the quarter-finals to set up a mouth-watering semi-final with Novak
Djokovic.
Should Djokovic and Federer meet this
Friday, it could be a titanic battle. Federer knows a record-breaking seventh Wimbledon title would also catapult him back to the top
of the world rankings whilst Novak will be all too aware that a successful defence
of the title will open up a nice gap between himself and the chasing pack.
On the other side of the draw, Andy
Murray has been improving with every match he's played here in London, and he'll come up
against Spaniard David Ferrer in the last eight. Ferrer defeated Murray at the same stage
of the French Open just a few weeks ago, but the British no.1 should have the edge on the grass. Having said that, Ferrer appears to be
warming to the "green stuff." An event win in Hertogenbosch last week was the
Spaniard's fourth of the year, and he has looked in great shape with victories
over Andy Roddick and Juan Martin Del Potro in the last couple of rounds. This
one really could be a tough call.
The last men's semi will see Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga going up against German Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Kohlschreiber was the man who most benefitted from Nadal's early exit but, in
fairness, he has been putting in some impressive performances of late and is
really starting to make his way up the rankings. Tsonga should have too much
for the German, but you can never be entirely confident in Jo-Wilfried; if
he has one of his off days, Kohlschreiber could find himself in a first Grand
Slam final.
Should Andy Murray and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
face off in the semi-finals, the British no.1 will know it is probably the best
chance he'll ever have of reaching a Wimbledon
final.
In the women's draw, we are already at the
semi-final stage. Serena Williams will meet Victoria Azarenka in the first
semi-final, hoping to book herself a place in a sixth Wimbledon
final. Since coming back from injury 12 months ago, Serena has still to add to
her Grand Slam haul, but this could be a great chance to pick up a fifth SW19
title. Azarenka was a beaten semi-finalist here last year but is the highest ranked
player still in the draw and she could make life difficult for Williams in
this one.
In the second semi-final,
we earmarked her as a
pre-tournament dark horse ahead of the event, and now Angelique Kerber has the
opportunity to secure a place in her first Grand Slam final with a semi-final
victory over Agnieszka
Radwanska. Radwanska showed superb resolve in coming through
a late night battle with Camila Giorgi on Wednesday but Kerber may just have too much for her in
Thursday's final.