Only four men remain as the ATP Swiss Indoors in Basel reaches its conclusion this weekend. Nine-time Roger Federer will be jostling with the chasing pack as he bids to claim an unprecedented 10th title in his hometown.
Who will advance to Sunday’s final?
ATP Basel Semifinal Predictions
Alex De Minaur vs Reilly Opelka
Head-to-head: De Minaur 3-0 Opelka
Reilly Opelka produced a serving masterclass in which he fired 31 aces to beat London aspirant Roberto Bautista Agut in three sets to reach his fifth Tour-level semifinal of his career. The American has reached four of his five semifinals this season–most recently at the start of the month in Tokyo–as he works to broaden his game beyond just a huge serve. Opelka who is currently at a career-high ranking of World No.37 clinched his maiden ATP title at Long Island, New York in February, and is on course to reach his second final of the season.
The 6’11’’ American will face Australia’s fast-rising star Alex De Minaur who withstood 12 aces and a barrage of aggressive hitting from Jan-Lennard Struff to book his spot in the semifinals. De Minaur has put together a superb breakout season which has yielded three titles and a place at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan where he will be a strong favorite to win the crown this year. The 20-year-old has a commanding 3-0 advantage over Opelka in their head-to-head, but all three meetings were tightly contested matches featuring at least one tiebreak in each. De Minaur is electric on a tennis court, but even with his great agility he will find it very difficult to counter the Opelka serve. I expect the American to navigate his way into his second final of the season.
Prediction: Opelka in 3
Roger Federer vs Stefanos Tsitsipas
Head-to-head: Federer 1-1 Tsitsipas
Roger Federer advanced to the semifinals after his Swiss compatriot Stan Wawrinka withdrew with a lower back injury just an hour after seeing off Frances Tiafoe in a grueling second round clash on Thursday night. The nine-time champion hasn’t had the best of times since suffering a heartbreaking defeat at Wimbledon this year. He lost to Andrey Rublev in the Round of 16 in Cincinnati, and the US Open quarterfinals to Grigor Dimitrov. His most recent Tour-level defeat came at the Shanghai Masters, where he lost to Alexander Zverev in three sets. But the legendary Swiss seems re-energized on his return to Basel, serving his way to the last four with a couple of domineering performances. There is no doubt that this remains his happy hunting ground to clinch a 103rd career title.
Federer was expected to face his toughest test yet in the quarterfinals. However, Wawrinka’s withdrawal means that this encounter against Tsitsipas will most likely be his most difficult assignment of the week. The young Greek secured a stunning upset win over the 20-time Major champion at this year’s Australian Open–a result which established the 21-year-old into the limelight proper. Tsitsipas’ breakthrough year hasn’t been all plain sailing. He suffered a mid-season slump during the American summer. The Greek lost five of six matches after reaching the semifinals in Washington. Although he has since returned to form during the autumn, it is hard to see him replicate his exploits from Melbourne. Federer is near invincible in these parts and he should power past the young Greek.
Prediction: Federer in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
Disagree with our ATP Basel semifinal predictions? Do you think Tsitsipas or De Minaur will win? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.
