The quarterfinals are about to get underway at the 2019 Moselle Open in Metz, France. On Friday, home favorite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will face Nikoloz Basilashvili and Lucas Pouille should be given a stern test by Filip Krajinovic. Who do you think will prevail?
ATP Metz Quarterfinal Predictions
Benoit Paire vs Gregoire Barrere
Head-to-head: Paire 1-0
The two Frenchmen met four years ago in a Challenger final in Quimper. Barrere was an unknown French wild card back then, while Paire was perceived as one the bigger talents in the sport. Although he hasn’t quite fulfilled the expectations, the 30-year-old has been a steady (only in terms of the ranking) top 50 player for quite some time. The schedule he took for this season is particularly brutal, but even playing his 29th event of the season, Paire shows no signs of slowing down. His unstable mentality is a huge problem and an option for Barrere to get into this match. The level of Paire’s play fluctuates all the time but on a fast surface and against a not too dangerous opponent, the better moments should outweigh the worse ones.
Prediction: Paire in 3
Pablo Carreno Busta vs Aljaz Bedene
Head-to-head: 3-3
This will be the seventh meeting between the two and first outside clay. Carreno Busta played a great match to dismantle the top seed David Goffin 6-3 6-2. Bedene is through to the quarterfinals beating French wildcard Rayane Roumane and the defending champion Gilles Simon. Both certainly wouldn’t call indoor hard their best surface, but it’s the Spaniard who seems to have more arguments on it. It will be a battle of very consistent baseliners and it’s Carreno Busta whose repertoire of shots is much wider. His variety and successful rhythm-breaking options should allow him to triumph here.
Prediction: Carreno Busta in 3
Filip Krajinovic vs Lucas Pouille
Head-to-head: Pouille 2-1
The Frenchman won this event three years ago and made a great start to his 2019 campaign on Thursday, when he managed to routine Lorenzo Sonego. Krajinovic has two matches in his legs already, beating Peter Gojowczyk and Fernando Verdasco. Pouille defeated the Serbian twice last year (Dubai and Marseille), while Krajinovic’s sole head-to-head win comes from the 2013 season. The Frenchman shines on faster courts as he can dominate play on his serve and forehand. The ability to consistently put pressure on his opponent should be the key here. Krajinovic is a very fine baseliner but he lacks the means to dictate the pace in rallies.
Prediction: Pouille in 2
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs Nikoloz Basilashvili
Head-to-head: 1-1
The Frenchman won an ATP Challenger Tour event in Cassis two weeks ago. His run included the shortest ever final of a tournament of this level (43 minutes over Dudi Sela). He managed to bring that form to Metz, beating Pablo Andujar and Pierre-Hugues Herbert to advance to the quarterfinals. He will face the second seed Nikoloz Basilashvili, who advanced with a straight-set win over Yannick Maden. They’ve split their clay-court matches, but Tsonga should have the advantage in indoor conditions. The Frenchman’s serve and forehand combination is absolutely deadly on faster courts. Basilashvili requires longer wind-up on his strokes and should be much too erratic to win here.
Prediction: Tsonga in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
