John McEnroe called it a “high probability.”
The 2018 Australian Open seemed to be on a collision course for another Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal men’s singles final.
However, Nadal failed to firm up his end of the bargain as a hip injury forced the No. 1 seed to shockingly retire after two games of the fifth set in the quarterfinals against No. 6 Marin Cilic of Croatia.
The upset loss sets up an unpredictable men’s singles semifinal between Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open champion and last year’s Wimbledon runner-up, against unheralded Kyle Edmund of Great Britain. Edmund, ranked No. 49, upset No. 3 seed Grigor Dimitrov in four sets in the quarterfinals.
“No one in the history of making draws had Marin Cilic and Kyle Edmund in the semifinals” said Brad Gilbert on ESPN2,
Defending champion Federer sits as the strong favorite to win his 20th major title as he faces No. 20-ranked Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals, a player who he has beaten 19 out of 25 career meetings. In the other quarterfinal, to play the Federer-Berdych winner in the semifinal, is No. 58 Hyeon Chung of South Korea against No. 97 Tennys Sandgren of the United States.
A Wimbledon final repeat between Federer and Cilic from last summer seems inevitable. Federer won that confrontation 6-3, 6-1, 6-4, Cilic not able to handle the pressure of the situation and also not being in the best of health. Federer leads the head-to-head with Cilic 6-1, Federer’s only loss coming at the 2014 US Open semifinals 63 64 64 after Federer was hampered after a five-set win over Gael Monfils in the quarterfinals, coming from two-sets-to-love down.
Last year, Federer and Nadal clashed in an epic final where Federer came back from 1-3 down in the fifth set to win his 18th major singles title by a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 scoreline.
Speaking on ESPN2 on American television, McEnroe went as far as guaranteeing that Federer and Nadal would play Sunday in a
Grand Slam final for a 10th time. All of Federer and Nadal’s biggest challengers have mostly fallen with six-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic losing to the up-and-coming and impressive Chung of Korea in the fourth round and two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray not even posting in Australia due to his continued hip problems. Other young gun challengers like Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem and Jack Sock have all tripped up before the quarterfinals.
“They can’t seem to get close to the real greats,” said McEnroe of the young challengers to Nadal and Federer.
Fans will have to closely monitor the Australian Open odds from CrownBet, the fastest growing online sports and racing wagering business in Australia, for the latest on the men’s singles competition.
The courts at Melbourne Court are also playing especially fast this year – “As quick as I have ever seen it down here” said McEnroe – gives Federer, the eight-time Wimbledon champion, a great advantage with his effective serve and more attacking style.
“It plays right into Federer’s hands,” said McEnroe of the fast court-conditions in Melbourne.
Nadal has struggled with knee problems since winning the U.S. Open last September that forced him to withdraw from the 2017 year-end ATP World Tour Finals as well as preventing him from playing any warm-up events leading into the Australian Open. He showed some vulnerability in a tough four-set win over Diego Schwartzman in the fourth round.
Federer has not dropped a set in reaching the quarterfinals, which helps his 36-year-old body during the wear and tear of the two weeks of major tournament tennis. Federer’s biggest threat to winning a 20th major title could be his fitness as his older body doesn’t recover as it once did and could suddenly hamper him in the later rounds of the event. Just ask Nadal!
