Men’s Picks (Winner’s Name in Bold)
1 Novak Djokovic vs. 5 David Ferrer – Djokovic should win, but Ferrer is going to be tougher than Hewitt was. My guess is Nole raises his game and wins in 3 or 4 sets.
4 Andy Murray vs. 24 Kei Nishikori – I think Murray calmly makes another slam semifinal. Nishikori pulled a great upset over Tsonga, but Murray looks pretty solid to me. I pick Murray in 3 sets.
11 Juan Martin del Potro vs. 3 Roger Federer – This is the hardest match to predict. Federer benefits from the day time heat. I think that may be the difference. Delpo has played quite well since a sluggish first round. A win here would signal that Delpo is indeed fully back in the hunt. I originally picked Federer for the final four so I am sticking with that, but JMDP winning would not be even a small surprise. My pick is Federer in four.
7 Tomas Berdych vs. 2 Rafael Nadal – This could have been a close match. However, I think Berdych failing to shake Nicolas Almagro’s hand will make Spanish pride a factor. I think that unless Nadal pulls up injured he beats Berdych in 3 sets.
Women’s Picks (Winners in Bold)
1 Caroline Wozniacki vs. 11 Kim Clijsters – Clijsters’ ankle is a question mark, but I think this being her final Aussie Open will help Kim dig deep and dispatch the world #1 in 2 tough sets.
3 Victoria Azarenka vs. 6 Agnieszka Radwanska – Azarenka certainly could lose this match, but it will be decided on her terms. If she makes her shots, she wins. If she sprays too many errors, Radwanska wins. I think Azarenka is close to breaking through so I pick her in 2 sets.
Ekaterina Makarova vs. 4 Maria Sharapova – Makarova pulled a great upset, but Sharapova wins here pretty easily. Maria wants to get back into the winner’s circle.
Sara Errani vs. 2 Petra Kvitova – Kvitova will set up a Wimbledon rematch with Sharapova. I pick Kvitova in 2 sets.
