My main man Marat Safin kept his unlikely streak going at Wimbledon with a routine (mixed in with the usual inexplicable blip causing a sure-fire straight-sets win to turn into a four setter) win over the other Swiss tennis player Stanislas Wawrinka (incredibly ranked at No. 9 in the world!).
Unfortunately, Safin's opponent in the quarter-finals is the hard serving lefty Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, who engineered a miraculous comeback against another of my favorites Marcos Baghdatis, while saving three consecutive match points and finally prevailing 8-6 in the fifth set. Man I do feel sorry for the irrepressible Baghdatis, if he doesn't really buckle down I fear that his time as a top-flight player may soon be coming to an end.
Our old pal Mario Ancic, the baby-faced, big-serving Croat (aren't they all?) managed to claw his way back for a victory against big-hitting Fernando Verdasco, winning the final set 13-11. Ancic, as we have been told ad nauseam, was the last man to beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon. Until his unfortunate bout with glandular fever (during which time he earned a law degree!), Ancic was a real threat, and it's wonderful to see a good guy like him slowly working his way back.
This has been a nice little Wimbledon hasn't it?
LINKS
The Times: Maverick Marat Safin
The Telegraph: Ancic Survives
ESPN: Lopez Goes Through
NYT: Fourth Round Report
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