Eight players remain as they will battle it out in quarterfinal day at this year’s edition of the Vienna Open. But who will claim the four semifinal spots as eight players are cut down to the final four?
Vienna Open Quarterfinal Predictions
Diego Schwartzman vs Karen Khachanov
Head-to-head: 1-1 tied
Schwartzman was impressive in his last match as he edged through Sam Querrey in a tight one. But by no means is the 27-year-old Argentine in good form at the moment. The world no. 15, after his quarterfinal appearance at the US Open last month has failed to capture back-to-back victories and has only broken that curse by beating Querrey yesterday.
Schwartzman could be feeling physically and emotionally drained after such a tough three-setter (two of the three sets went to a tiebreak). Khachanov, on the other hand, was handed retirement from Marton Fucsovics due to injury in the middle of their third set battle. So technically the Russian has spent less time on court compared to his opponent. Small details like this could prove decisive at this stage of the tournament in terms of who ultimately prevails.
Prediction: Khachanov in 3
Matteo Berrettini vs Andrey Rublev
Head-to-head: Berrettini leads 2-1
Every win is important now for Berrettini as he looks to secure one of the last two spots at the ATP Finals next month in London. The 23-year-old Italian has handled the pressure well this week as he has yet to drop a set by beating both Kyle Edmund and Grigor Dimitrov in his first two matches here.
Rublev, likewise, has looked as though he will be tough to stop this week. Even though the young Russian will not have any chance of qualifying for London this year, he has been playing aggressive and entertaining tennis as of late. The 22-year-old is currently on a seven-match winning streak as he won in Moscow last week and looked impressive by beating the resurgent Hyeon Chung in straight sets 6-4 6-2 and winning 89% of his first-serve points.
But with Berrettini knowing these matches are literally must-win for qualification in London, this must give him the extra motivation and hunger to fight till the very end. This extra source of motivation could prove to be the decisive factor in terms of who eventually wins this match.
Prediction: Berrettini in 3
Aljaz Bedene vs Gael Monfils
Head-to-head: First meeting
There were some injury concerns for Monfils in his last match against Jannik Sinner as the Frenchman had some physical issues in his first-round match against Dennis Novak. However, Monfils looked physically fit as he beat the 18-year-old Sinner in straight sets.
Aljaz Bedene, coming in as a qualifier, has already played four matches this week. In his last match, the Slovenian was forced to grind down Gilles Simon, who is never easy to beat, in a tough three-setter. Physically it will be a big ask for Bedene to beat back-to-back grinders as Monfils will be making Bedene play every ball until he tires out eventually.
Prediction: Monfils in 2
Dominic Thiem vs Pablo Carreno-Busta
Head-to-head: Thiem leads 6-1
Pablo Carreno-Busta has enjoyed a resurgence in form especially during and after the North American hard-court swing. The high point was arguably winning his fourth career singles title in Chengdu as he beat Alexander Bublik in a close three-setter. The 28-year-old Spaniard continued this form by reaching the semifinals in Stockholm last week and is now in the quarterfinals here.
Their most recent meeting was in Shanghai where Thiem beat the Spaniard in straight sets. No doubt Carreno-Busta will sit down with his team to avoid what happened in Shanghai. But it will be tough for the Spaniard to beat the top seed here this week. Not only does the head-to-head swings heavily to Thiem’s favor. But also this match being played essentially on Thiem’s backyard, the crowd will no doubt will be playing a role to push their own homegrown boy over the finish line.
Prediction: Thiem in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
Disagree with our Vienna Open quarterfinal predictions? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.
