Nadal, Verdasco To Meet in Semis

Two left-handed Spaniards decimated two highly regarded right-handed Frenchmen in the upper bracket’s quarterfinal pairings. Top-seeded, Rafael Nadal continued his impressive 2009 Australian Open dominance with another straight set win over France’s 6th seeded Gilles Simon. Nadal arrived at Melbourne fit and in good form. The hard hitting lefty has proven able to play through the heat and tough opponents with relative ease.

His 6-2, 7-5, 7-5 win over Simon left little doubt about the merits of his world or tournament ranking. Nadal’s driving forehand pressured the Frenchman throughout the match. Simon uncharacteristically committed 41 unforced errors. This was a match where Simon needed to be consistent and cash in on every opportunity. Nadal refuses to melt.

Instead, the Spaniard reversed the roles and played near flawless tennis. He forced Simon well behind the service line and never stopped pressing. In the last two sets, Nadal seized the break opportunities when presented and ran out the string. The Spaniard won 105 points to Simon’s 83. Nadal only double faulted twice in the match. He remains the only player in the draw to have not lost a set.

Each bracket has a would-be challenger in each semi-final pairing. In the lower bracket, Roger Federer will have to get past American Andy Roddick, who beat Federer the last time the two played. Roddick may well be playing the most consistent tennis of his career. Federer has been almost as sharp as Nadal in turning back challenger after challenger.

Nadal will face the tournament’s most improved and surprising player in country-mate Fernando Verdasco. The Melbourne crowds have been awed by Verdasco’s stellar play. His sleek, athletic build is well suited for the Australian summer. He has worked hard on adding velocity to an already extremely consistent serve.

These attributes were on display in his quarterfinal pairing with 2008 Runner-up Jo Willfried Tsonga of France. Tsonga had his big serve working, but Fernando Verdasco had the answers. Playing with focus and purpose, Fernando bullied his way to a 7-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over the heavily favored Tsonga.

After defeating tournament favorite and fourth seeded Andy Murray in the round of sixteen, Verdasco kept the momentum in knocking out the fifth seeded Frenchman. In the quarters, Verdasco started the match fast and finished without a hitch in rolling over another big seed.

The first set was the type set Verdasco would not have won a year ago. As solid as Verdasco’s play was, Tsonga relied on his big serve to stay with the Spaniard. During the tiebreaker, Verdasco rose to another level and showed why experts believe he is ready for a rapid ascent into the top ten.

Using a 135 mph, wide serve to the deuce court, Verdasco was able to ace Tsonga on many key points. When Tsonga pressed, the lefty cut him off with sharply angled backhand drives that took Tsonga’s net game away. When serving to the add court, Verdasco crowded Tsonga and would not allow him to hit fully extended strokes. The strategy was brilliant and the Melbourne crowds now have two decided underdogs in the 14th seeded Verdasco and the 7th seeded Roddick to cheer on in the semis. The 2008 Champion, Novak Djokovic and Runner-up Tsonga are both gone. Two contenders are in the middle of the long-awaited Nadal-Federer finals. Watch for the upsets!