[Sabine]

I guess we all want Nishikori to win..

[laundry]

Did none of you watch Nishikori play? He was amazing, if he plays like he did in the SF he will be Raonic.

[Emma Jean]

Why do you suppose that EJ?  I'd have thought Raonic is the favourite depsite home support and him having a much easier match today than Raonic did.  I hope Nishikori does win as I like him and it would be great for him and Japan but I'm not expecting him to.

Just assessing the situation at hand. Raonic had two very tough rounds against Tipsy and Andy. Both went to final sets and he even faced a match point against Tipsy in the qtr and against Andy, that too came down to 2 points in the TB. Nishikori, on the other hand, destroyed Berdych in straight sets and yesterday's match was even easier than the previous round, so he should be relatively fresh and ready. This is his home country so that should play a part as well. They have never played before so I think it will be more tricky for Raonic than Nishi given all that.

Also, Raonic gave his all against Andy last night so I don't feel he'll be able to bring the same level and consistency in the final match against a tricky player like Nishikori, who I believe can handle big servers. He will just have to be very patient and wait for his opportunities. Also, Nishi too has experience playing big matches so that's another bonus. Let's see though.

[BigNose]

Theres nothing wrong with Andys back , stop making excuses for him.  Its Andy. Hes a bit dramatic at times

Agreed. Even when Milos won a point off a net cord the first thing Andy did was clutch his back! Its obviously something he's done since a junior and he does it without even thinking. Ive long stopped worrying about Andy's physical state. He's in superb shape.

[Murray Magic]

Let's put things in perspective, at the beginning the year if someone had told us that Andy would be Olympic Gold Medalist and USO Champion we would have told them to have a lie down in a darkened room!!  He lost in the SF of a 500, sure it was a little bit dissapointing but it's not the end of the world.  Remember, a few years ago Andy was the young gun beating Smugfed, nobody wrote Smug off and as Smug always liked to say when asked about his negative head to head with Andy "but I beat him at all the important ones" well now Andy is in this position, he has beat Raonic when it mattered.

This will not derail his campaign, he is clearly focused on the big ones, the masters and WTF to get his ranking points.  Let's give this young man a break, he has just completed the best summer of his life and the fact he is now a GS champion is the most important thing at the end of the day.

Really hope the back is okay and able to be controlled so that Andy can come out fighting in Shanghai.  It will not be a disaster if Andy does not defend his points during the Asian swing, it happens to all the top players and I for one cannot see Federer defending his massive amount of points until the end of the year.

Today, bad day at the office, nothing more.  Really would like to see Nishikori triumph tomorrow to protect the beautiful game that is skilful play not dependent on massive serving.

[Ruthie]

Hope you're right about Kei EJ.  And MM: once again 

[tamila]

As I cannot find my post I think I may not have put it on.  Last night when I woke up to turn over (have to do as hips are really bad now) I realised what it is I do not like about Milos.  He reminds me of Federer and his smugness.  The baby face can get to one but I think he will turn out a little bit smug in the end.

The other thing is that Andy has played 19 or 20 sets since playing Milos at USO and Milos has only played 9.  Do Milos must have been fresher and had already been in Asia much longer to adjust before competing.