Nadal/Murray: Career Statistics & Wimbledon Men's Semifinal Preview: Part 1

With Federer out, the Big-Four-Semifinal-Dream has been shattered. But still we cannot take away the interesting matches lined up tomorrow in Men’s Semifinal. With 3 of the Semifinalist from 2010, Tsonga is a new addition this year in place of Berdych after playing the match of his life.

Rafael Nadal vs. Andy Murray:

Both these players are playing imperious tennis and it seems nothing can go wrong for them. It would be pretty interesting to see how they come out and play tomorrow. The only concern for both the players would not be tennis but the injuries that they picked during their previous matches in Wimbledon.

Nadal after having a MRI was unsure of his chances to play but seemed pretty good in his QF, running freely after taking medications for his foot. That is good news for fans of Nadal who has become the hot favorite to win back to back grand slams (French Open + Wimbledon) 3 times with Federer out of the door. 

Whereas Andy Murray who is carrying the burden of 75 years of history of the nation seems to be the silent underdog amongst the top 4. The result will depend on Andy Murray’s pressure handling abilities. In the past we have seen him tumble down at grand stages but who knows if he can hold himself and not allow Nadal to control the long rallies by imposing his own kind of play, we might have a upset at hand. Not to forget, he was the only player (except Federer) who had come close to defeating Djokovic (who has defeated Nadal 4 times this year). So he has the game. It’s all about nerves now for him.

  Let’s Look at their Career Statistics:

Name	Rafael Nadal	Andy Murray
Current Ranking	World No. 1	World no. 4
Head to Head Record	11	4
Grand Slam Record	4	2
Wimbledon Record	2	0
2011 Win Loss Record	50-7	27-8
Career W/L Record	522-108	294-102
Titles (2011)	3	1

With Nadal having won 11 out of 15 times and also their last 2 Wimbledon encounters in 2008/2010, he is certainly the favorite to win the Semi Final.

Rafael Nadal: "Last year I beat Andy here in the semi-finals, but it was a very close match, even if it was in straight sets. For sure I always enjoy playing these kind of matches." - Nadal

Andy Murray: “I just have to have a better game plan -- go out there and play well and serve well and believe, and I'll have a chance."

My Opinion: Andy Murray can cause the upset of the day if he can play his natural game.

Reason:

1)  He has become mentally and physically stronger than last year.

2)  He will be playing in front of his home crowd. If only he can use this to his advantage, we might have a champion from England after 75 years.


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(Click Here for: Djokovic/Tsonga: Career Statistics & Wimbledon Men's Semifinal Preview: Part 2)