Call it a Wimbledon/Honeymoon hangover or whatever else you might like but Novak Djokovic has not been himself since returning from an extended lay off following his victory over Roger Federer at the All England Club in early July. 

After being sent packing in straight sets by eventual champ Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, the No. 1 player in the world was dismissed in the third round for the second consecutive week. Tommy Robredo played the role of spoiler in Cincinnati, downing Djokovic 7-6(6), 7-5 at the Western and Southern Open and keeping the talented Serb from completing his collection of ATP Masters 1000 Event titles. 

While the talented Serbian showed flashes of his usual brilliant self, he committed far too many unforced errors on the afternoon and won just eighteen points on Robredo’s serve for the entire match. This coming from the man who is generally considered to be the finest returner the game of tennis has ever produced. 

Give the talented Spaniard credit, as outside of brief hiccup during a return game in set number two, he was on his game from start to finish. The No. 16 seed pushed Djokovic around the court for much of the match and used a variety of ground strokes to keep the seven-time Grand Slam Champ on the run. It was a near flawless performance from the thirty-two year old ATP tour vet. 

Andy Murray managed to rebound from dropping the opening set to John Isner and win what was arguably the match of the tournament, 6-7(3), 6-4, 7-6(2) over the No. 11 seed. While the towering American is more often than not a one trick pony, he matched the former Wimbledon and US Open Champion shot for shot during what was an enthralling battle. 

In fact, one could argue that it was the combination of the Scotsman’s shot making ability and dominating service game, in which he lost all of five points on his first serve, that ultimately turned the match in his favour. With the win, Murray awaits the winner of Thursday night’s feature match between Roger Federer and Gael Monfils to find out who he will face in tomorrow’s quarter-final. 

Other players to advance to the final eight during the afternoon session included No. 3 seed Stan Wawrinka, who overcame a rough opening set before proceeding to pulverize No. 14 seed Miran Cilic 3-6, 6-0, 6-1. Italy’s Fabio Fognini also needed to go the distance before knocking off Yen-Hsun Lu 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, while Frenchman Julien Benneteau made quick work of Jerzy Janowicz 7-5, 6-1.