Day 6: The Men

No doubt about it, Rafael Nadal had a tough draw. Even before he started the tournament, he had a lot of big servers and aggressive players standing between him and the Wimbledon final. After three rounds, though, I am concerned. He's played five-setters in his past two rounds, and although he's still in the tournament, the toughest part of the draw is still ahead of him, and he's looking ... less than fantastic. Today, he was again down two-sets-to-one, but he came back and beat Philipp Petzschner 6-4, 4-6, 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-3.
For his effort, Nadal now gets Paul-Henri Mathieu, who needed four sets and three tiebreakers, 7-6(5), 7-6(6), 6-7(8), 6-4 to take out Thiemo de Bakker. Mathieu is a dangerous opponent, a career underachiever, and if he's not sharp, Nadal could be in for another long day Monday.
And most likely, Robin Soderling will be waiting for the winner of that match in the quarters. Soderling has been sharp so far, and his strong play continued today, with a 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 win over Thomaz Bellucci. The Swede has to be looking ahead, though. If he gets through David Ferrer, he gets Nadal/Mathieu with a great chance at moving forward, possibly to next Sunday.
So what's the difference between a top player and an almost-top player? Jeremy Chardy led Ferrer by a break through most of their fifth-set ... until he had to serve for it. Then, Ferrer hit a string of winners to break at 15, and swept through the last two games for a 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 7-5 win. That's the difference. Now, he comes in as a serious underdog against Soderling.
In the third quarter, it's been a tale of the unsurprising upsets. The most interesting Round of 16 match here should be Andy Murray, a 6-1 6-4, 6-4 winner over Gilles Simon, against Sam Querrey. Querrey had a deceptively tough customer in Xavier Malisse, but he outlasted the Belgian in - wait for it - a five-set marathon, 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2, 5-7, 9-7. After flaming out in Paris, Querrey came to the grass refreshed, and he should give Murray a tough fight. I'd be lying if I said I had a favorite in that one. Murray's going to have the crowd and the home-court advantage in his favor, and that could make the difference.
If he does win this one, Murray will most likely play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Tsonga, coming off a five-set win, was back in top form, taking out Tobias Kamke 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(1) and will now play compatriot Julien Benneteau, who beat Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-1, 2-6, 6-3. One thing you learn if you follow tennis is to never fully trust matches between players from the same country, and I don't fully trust this one. No doubt, Tsonga should be favored, but Benneteau has been in good form these past six weeks.
Back Monday with Round of 16 coverage.