Nadal or Murray - who's your money on?

The clash between Rafael Nadal, the No 2 seed, and Andy Murray, the British No 1, in the quarter-finals of the men's singles on Centre Court today has the potential to be a Wimbledon classic.

We have to confess to somewhat divided loyalties here on the Times Online sports desk. Rafa, after all, has been doing magnificent work with his exclusive Blog for us during the course of the tournament. Not only that, he has sat there, into the early hours, in between cheering on his beloved Spain at Euro 2008, answering your questions which at times have gone from the sublime to the wonderfully ridiculous.

On the other side of the net, though, is Murray. He can be a bit of a grump at times, it must be said, not like that nice boy Tim Henman, the housewives' favourite, used to be. But on Monday night young Andy turned from sourpuss into Lionheart, coming of age and showing depths of spirit and moral fortitude that few sportsmen on this planet possess, as well as producing tennis of the highest order to battle back from a two-set deficit to erode the morale of Richard Gasquet before marching on to the last eight. I have been watching Wimbledon avidly (albeit on the telly) since the mid-Seventies and there have not been many moments from one of our own more memorable than that wondrous back-hand from nowhere to win the third-set tie-break, Murray then standing on the edge of the court and roaring at an adoring and disbelieving crowd.

Murray might have lifted up his sleeves and showed his muscles at the end of that match, but his biceps do not make the ladies go weak at the knees in the same way that Rafa's do. You just want to have a look at some of the questions we get sent from some of our female readers to see that he has a certain appeal matched by no other player on the tennis circuit(!)

The question, therefore, is this: who do you want to see win today and why? Cast your vote and please serve us up an ace comment at the bottom of this post.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Comments

[NEMO]

IF YOU'RE WONDERING WHO IS MENTALLY STRONGER, NO DOUBT, NADAL IS THE CHAMP. IF NOT, ASK FEDERER

[Phoebe]

Rafa is a beautiful man, and a GENIUS player..i love him, and well, there really isnt any comparison today..i prefer andy murray to tim henman, but people are only supporting him because he's british...and thats pathetic..rafa will win in 3 sets......love him for always!!
xxx

[Adrian Kilbane]

I do not believe that if Nadal is leading by two sets he will suffer a psychological collapse and throw the match away as Gasquet did.Even if he is is two sets down I believe he has the talent and mental strength to come back and win.

[Kay]

I want Nadal to win as he is an excellent player with bags of charisma and a winning mentality. He deserves to be Champion this year.

[MAC]

I don't dare to make a prediction but just need to say that I hope with all my heart and soul that Rafa wins today.

It's not just for the chance of winning Wimbledon but for his position in the rankings. Too many points at stake.

[April]

"showing depths of spirit and moral fortitude that few sportsmen on this planet possess..." What complete twaddle!

[Fermin (New Hampshire)]

Unless Rafa is injured, I don't see the Scottish lion (Andy) beating the Spanish bull (Rafa).
Not, really, at this point Rafa is a more mature player than Murray, but we will see. I would bet on Rafa.

[Terry Owings]

Winning is 90% mental. If Murray believe's he can beat Nadal, he will!