There promises to be fireworks on Quarterfinals day at the St Petersburg Open as top seed Daniil Medvedev squares off against countryman Andrey Rublev in the pick of the last eight matches. And there is no shortage of entertaining action elsewhere in the draw. But who will advance to the semifinals?
St Petersburg Open Quarterfinal Predictions
Borna Coric vs Casper Ruud
Head-to-head: first meeting
Borna Coric made a good first impression in opener in St Petersburg in what was his first appearance since pulling out of his second-round match against Grigor Dimitrov at the US Open. In Russia, it was the Croatian who benefitted from a retirement, with Marton Fucsovics pulling out with injury deep in the third set. But it was a solid performance by Coric, who won over 60% of his second serve points and converted on three of five break point chances.
The 22-year-old will now play the eighth-seeded Norwegian Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals. The youngster from Oslo earned his first main draw win at an indoor ATP tour event when he defeated Alexander Bublik by rallying from a set down to win in three in the first round. Ruud followed that impressive comeback win with a solid straight sets-victory over Salvatore Caruso. The key concern for Coric here is his troublesome back. But if there is no recurrence of the injury, he should power past Ruud.
Prediction: Coric in 2
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Joao Sousa vs Mikhail Kukushkin
Head-to-head: Sousa 1-2 Kukushkin
Joao Sousa produced the upset of the St Petersburg Open as he dumped out second seed and home hope Karen Khachanov to progress to the quarterfinals of a tour-level event away from the clay for the first time in 2019. The unseeded Portuguese did not drop a single point on his serve in the first set tiebreak and he then broke deep into the second set to close out a thoroughly deserved 7-6 6-4 victory. Sousa will next play Russian-born Kazakhstani Mikhail Kukushkin.
Kukushkin recovered from a 4-2 deficit in the opening set against Damir Dzumhur to win 7-6 6-2.The Kazakh’s lone tour-level title came in St. Petersburg nine years ago and he will have hopes of reaching a second final on indoor hard courts in 2019 after featuring in the championship match in Marseille in February. Indoor conditions should suit the 31-year-old Kazakh who hits a very flat ball and consequently tends to play very well on fast, slick surfaces. The former champion also beat Sousa indoors in their most recent meeting, which came in the Davis Cup earlier this year.
Prediction: Kukushkin in 3
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Matteo Berrettini vs Egor Gerasimov
Head-to-head: first meeting
Matteo Berrettini can do no wrong right now. Fresh from his exploits at the 2019 US Open, where he became the first Italian man in 42 years to reach the last four, the 23-year-old brushed aside Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena 6-1 6-2, losing just six points on his own serve. With that win, Berrettini stepped up his quest for a place at the season-ending ATP Finals in London by passing Kei Nishikori into eighth position.
He will face Belarusian qualifier Egor Gerasimov in the quarterfinals. Gerasimov achieved his very own personal milestone in New York when he won his first ever Grand Slam match in the first round, beating Lloyd Harris after again coming through the qualifying. The man from Minsk has been a pro for nearly a decade, but he is in uncharted waters appearing in the quarterfinal of a tour-level event. And that would seem to spell bad news up against the red-hot Berrettini, despite Gerasimov’s impressive form all week.
Prediction: Berrettini in 2
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Daniil Medvedev vs Andrey Rublev
Head-to-head: Medvedev 1-0 Rublev
The last of the day’s matches will be an intriguing all-Russian clash between two in-form players. World #4 and US Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev, who put together a dream summer in North America by winning 20 out of the 23 matches he played, returned to action on Thursday. It had been less than two weeks since he fell just short of a maiden Grand Slam title in a New York classic against Rafael Nadal, but he showed no hangover in defeating Evgeny Donskoy 7-5 6-3.
But doubts over Medvedev’s fitness coming to St. Petersburg remain. Whether he has sufficiently recharged his batteries for a title-winning run this week is unclear. And he is also due to play in Tokyo at the end of the month where he is the defending champion ahead of a busy climax to the year. This will be a stern test for Medvedev as Rublev is in fine form as well and brimming with confidence following his impressive recent run of results. If Medvedev is not fully recovered and misfiring, expect the powerful Rublev to prevail.
Prediction: Rublev in 3
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