(The results for the last male semifinal has been included, and updated Changeover Staff Standings can be found at the bottom of this post – the tie for 2nd place has been broken!)
Grand Slam – Australian Open
Men’s Singles
Semifinal: Roger Federer vs. Andy Murray
Time: 3:30 a.m. Eastern – Friday, January 25th
Head to Head: 10-9, Murray
Andy Murray won, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-2 – Read all about it here!
Amy: This match-up is always extremely difficult to predict. On one hand, Murray has yet to beat Federer in a Slam. On the other hand, Murray’s confidence is high, and he’s had a much easier path to the semifinals. I’ll go with Murray in four sets.
Juan José: All I can think about this match is that it’s now or never for Murray in terms of beating Federer at a Grand Slam. Okay, maybe “now or never” is a little too hyperbolic: after all, Murray is just now entering his prime, while Federer left that stage of his career a while ago. My point is that this is a fantastic opportunity for Murray, given the context: Federer just played a five-setter against Jo-Willy Tsonga the other day (and was rather fortunate to come out of it, really), while Murray hasn’t dropped a set all tournament. You can’t ask for more than that, right? Plus, I think the speed of the court suits Murray quite well – it resembles the Shanghai surface, on which Murray was able to handle Federer quite easily a few months ago.
However, the problem facing Judy Murray’s son is that he’s barely had to push himself to arrive at this stage: his tricky quarter ended up being the easiest of the top four seeds, thanks in large part to Del Potro crashing out early. Still, you could’ve said the same about Federer, who hadn’t even dropped his serve before his battle with Tsonga. I think Murray will take his chance tonight, and do it in emphatic fashion: the current US Open champion will win in straight sets.
Lindsay: AAAAH. That’s the sound my head is making as I try to make this pick. I keep going back and forth. But since I’m so confused I’m going to lean back on predictions I made before the tournament, since both have shown good enough form not to sway me either way. So since I’m offering no new insight, I’ll just skip to my pick. Federer in four.
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Standings:
1. Amy: 12-2 Matches with Correct Number of Sets Picked: 7
2. Juan José: 10-4 Matches with Correct Number of Sets Picked: 5
3. Lindsay: 9-5 Matches with Correct Number of Sets Picked: 7
