Friday Preview: Top Three Going for Glory

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By Barry Newcombe

Lleyton Hewitt v Ivo Karlovic: Karlovic leads 1-0
Ivo Karlovic was responsible for one of the more eye catching results in Grand Slam history when he defeated the defending champion in the first round at Wimbledon in 2003. That the champion concerned was Lleyton Hewitt adds a little spice and a touch of drama as they meet here at Queen's Club for only the second time in their careers. Karlovic, 6ft 10ins and aged 26 from Croatia, was a qualifier when he beat Hewitt. That was not just a one off triumph because he reached the third round at Wimbledon that same year and the fourth round in 2004 when his career best performance was ended by eventual champion Roger Federer. Lleyton Hewitt is already a three times winner of the Stella Artois title and after missing a lengthy section of the playing year because of two different injuries he is happy to be fit and back on grass and building his challenge for this tournament and Wimbledon. The Stella Artois provided a lengthy day of competition yesterday and Hewitt was the last singles winner late in the evening. But he will be ready for today, make no mistake about that.

Verdict: Hewitt to progress

Tim Henman v Thomas Johansson: Henman leads 4-1
Thomas Johansson was on the opposite side of the net when British junior Andrew Murray suffered cramp and injury and defeat in the third round yesterday. Today is another day and another British opponent, the last survivor, in Tim Henman, the third seed. Murray has been an intriguing addition to the Stella Artois field and while the medical prognosis on his condition was encouraging so were the words of Johansson who said:"He can be a top fifty player, with his strokes and serve he is going to be really, really good. " Henman is playing in the Stella Artois for the 11th time and in five quarter finals has won four of them. Against Johansson he has the stronger record since they first met in Seoul in 1996. Their last match was in Monte Carlo in 2002 but this is their first meeting on grass. The evidence so far suggests a close affair today with both players confident of their abilities on these courts.

Verdict: Henman knows he will have to lift his game to win through

Richard Gasquet v Radek Stepanek: First Meeting
Richard Gasquet will never forget the Stella Artois championship because it is the first tournament on grass where he has won a match--three wins, in fact, to take him into the quarter finals against the fourth seeded Czech Radek Stepanek who he is playing for the first time. Gasquet, at 18, is the youngest survivor in the field and had to work hard to remove the fifth seeded Mario Ancic in the previous round. Stepanek, meanwhile, was beating Britain's Greg Rusedski who had considerable regard for Stepanek's serving. "He was very consistent, solid, "said Rusedski. "I think he served something like 78 per cent. So he played a very clever match. . . . " As the senior player in ranking and age-he is 26-Stepanek will start favourite today.

Verdict: Stepanek to improve his grass court record by reaching the semi-finals

Sebastien Grosjean v Andy Roddick: Roddick leads 5-1
The shifting patterns of tennis at the top are underlined by this quarter-final which matches the two players who competed in the past two Stella Artois finals, Andy Roddick and Sebastien Grosjean. Roddick won both of those finals and there is now the prospect that he could emulate both John McEnroe and Lleyton Hewitt by winning a third in successive years. For the moment Roddick has to concentrate on beating Grosjean, the seventh seed, in the knowledge that he has won their last five matches. Grosjean won their opening encounter in the Davis Cup semi-final between France and the USA at Stade Roland Garros in Paris in 2002. In that same Davis Cup match Grosjean defeated James Blake against whom he had an epic struggle in the Stella Artois third round yesterday when he saved five match points before coming through. Grosjean has not won a set in the two matches against Roddick at Queen's Club but will dig in for the challenge today, trying to gain positions against one of the strongest servers in the game and counter punching as the opportunities arise. But Roddick has to be confident.

Verdict: Roddick to march on

Jonas Bjorkman-Max Mirnyi v Gaston Etlis-Martin Rodriguez
This doubles quarter final brings together the new French chanmpions Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi, top seeds for the Stella Artois title, against the seventh seed Argentines Gaston Etlis and Martin Rodriguez. Bjorkman and Mirnyi first played together in 2000 and have won many titles with other partners before capturing the French Open this month with victory over the Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike, who are second seeds in the Stella Artois. Bjorkman has now won eight Grand Slam doubles titles and completed wins in all four Slams with the victory in Paris.

Verdict: Bjorkman and Mirnyi to reach the semi-finals

The Junior Championship

Carsten Ball(Australia) v Andrew Kennaugh(GBR)
The junior championship final matches the fourth seed Carsten Ball of Australia against the unseeded Andrew Kennaugh of Great Britain. Whether they are close in abilities remains to be seen but they were born just three days apart, Kennaugh on June 17, 1987, and Ball on June 20. This is Kennaugh's best tournment this year after reaching the second round of the Malaysian junior championships earlier. Kennaugh, from Surrey, qualified for the French Open juniors and won two matches. He played with Andrew Murray in doubles where they were quarter finalists. Ball was born in California. The son of the Australian Syd Ball, the former tour player, Carsten took Australian citizenship this year and was included in the Davis Cup squad against Austria. He is on his first tour of Europe.

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