Already more than half way through 2009, this is the first time the top 4 seeds have reached the semifinals, and what bigger event to meet, short of a major, than the Cincinnati Masters.  What was once the terrific trio of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic have now become the Fab Four, with Murray added to the mix.

Of the four, Murray has had the best hardcourt record.  Of course, that consists of the Montreal results since all four chose to take time off after Wimbledon to train or tend to other matters.  Last week, the top 8 seeds made the quarterfinals, but only one top 4 seed made it to the semifinals and that was Andy Murray.

Federer had a meltdown against Tsonga.  Djokovic lost to Roddick.  Nadal fell to del Potro.

Despite Murray’s tournament win, there are doubts whether he’s truly the man to beat.  Nadal is still getting his legs and arms back into match shape.  Federer always plays a bit iffy in the smaller tournaments, at least, since 2008.  Djokovic is the only question mark, a guy that Murray has had success against, but someone people could believe that Murray can handle.  This, despite his 6-2 record over Federer.

Murray has played most of his matches in the early afternoon, a nod to the British crowd who would prefer to watch his matches in prime time.  There’s a second reason for Murray to want early matches.  Murray has really improved his fitness, including his ability to handle the heat. He’d rather play his opponents in heat figuring his fitness would be much better.

It didn’t seem that way today as lucky loser, Julien Benneteau, took the first set, 6-4.  Benneteau then broke early in the second set and was up 2-0.  It didn’t look good for Murray.  He and Benneteau then hit a 53 shot rally, one where Murray was mostly pushing the shots (when a top pro pushes, it’s to disrupt his opponents who can’t handle junk) and make amazing gets, primarily lobs.   Finally, Benneteau messed up an overhead, a shot that has apparently given him trouble in the past.

From then on, Murray coasted to a win, taking the second set 6-3, and the third set 6-1.

Federer played long-time nemesis, Lleyton Hewitt.  Federer has beaten Hewitt the last 12 times.  Despite this streak, Hewitt is a tough competitor.  However, Hewitt has been bothered by tendinitis and was hobbled in the match.  This lead to a comfortable Federer win.

Djokovic played Simon in another quarterfinal.  Simon had played a tough match against Davydenko.  By the second set, Simon didn’t quite look like he wanted to win, as if an injury were bother him.  Djokovic took the match in a close one, but one he was in control most of the way.

Nadal started playing better against Mathieu last night especially in the second set.  Indeed, as much as Murray has played in the afternoon, Nadal has played in the evenings.  Berdych is somewhat like Mathieu, except he’s a bigger guy.  This means bigger serve, bigger forehand, and especially, bigger backhand.  Berdych tried to attack Nadal, but Nadal’s first serve percentage was so high that he didn’t get many looks at a second serve.

When Berdych attacked the net, Nadal was finding ways to pass.  You really have to hit a fantastic approach because Nadal whips his shots so fast, it’s hard to rattle him.  Berdych had some success coming up the middle to cut the angles down, but he didn’t do it a ton.  Clearly, this was Nadal’s best match since he returned to the hard courts.

That leaves dream matchups.  In the first semis, Murray will play Federer.  Federer will want to turn this rivalry around, but despite this blip against Benneteau, Murray has been playing the best tennis of the top 4.  Federer hasn’t played a fantastic match in two weeks yet.  He’s been workmanlike in his victories.  Still, I think Federer might make things real interesting, so this will be a nice match.

On the other half, Djokovic and Nadal renew their rivalry.  These two met three times during the leadup to the French, with Nadal winning each time.  They met in the three Masters clay-court events: Monte Carlo, Rome, and Madrid with Madrid being Djokovic at his very best, having match points on his racquet, and yet still unable to get through.

Nadal has actually beaten Djokovic 5 times in a row, but the last time they met, which was last year in Cincinnati, Djokovic actually beat Nadal.  What’s the difference this time?  Several things.  Last year, Djokovic was still playing pretty good.  To be honest, he’s not playing that bad this year either.  He’s had 49 match wins this year, second only to Murray (these are prior to Cincinnati, I believe).  It’s just that he’s not winning the titles.

This is likely to be a great match.  Nadal is finally hitting the ball well and if Djokovic can play really solid, we could see an epic match.  This will be a real test to see how Nadal is really playing.  Against Berdych, he was doing quite well.  The tournament organizers have again given Nadal a night match, perhaps realizing that Nadal’s fitness may not be 100% yet.  Despite being #3 in the world, they must still give him props when it comes to scheduling.

What a great way to lead into the US Open!