Eight players remain in contention for the 2021 ATP Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma, Italy. This is the last chance to get things going before Roland Garros. On the other hand, those who want to go far in Paris will also have to try to preserve energy. Who do you think will make the final four?
ATP Parma Quarterfinal Predictions
Richard Gasquet vs Jaume Munar
Head-to-head: First meeting
It feels like Richard Gasquet’s barely been playing tennis this year as health issues forced him to limit his schedule and even withdraw from two tournaments that he had already won a match in. This is all changing now though with the Frenchman reaching the quarterfinals at Lyon and now going at least this deep in Parma. The last few matches have been some of the best tennis he’s played in a while and he might actually have a shot at Jaume Munar here. Even his weaker forehand wing was as agressive as ever against Pedro Martinez and if he can keep it up, he could expose the Spaniard’s inability to take the racket out of his opponent’s hands.
Prediction: Gasquet in 3
Marco Cecchinato vs Norbert Gombos
Head-to-head: 1-1
Marco Cecchinato won their only head-to-head meeting on clay but its importance will not be too high given it was seven years ago. Still, the Italian has a much more natural clay-court game than Norbert Gombos. While Cecchinato rarely performs at the level that he once used to get to Roland Garros semifinals, the dirt allows him to make use of all his variety and constantly keep the opponent guessing. Gombos has made great use of the lucky loser spot he received but looking at how well Cecchinato has performed so far, this might be the end of the road for the Slovakian.
Prediction: Cecchinato in 3
Jan-Lennard Struff vs Tommy Paul
Head-to-head: First meeting
For an American, Tommy Paul excels on red clay. The former French Open boys’ singles champion’s draws have been rather on the unlucky side of late though. In his last four tournaments, Paul went out to either Stefanos Tsitsipas, Roberto Bautista Agut, or Andrey Rublev, in the first or second round each. Luckily for him, these players didn’t sign up for Parma and perhaps the 24-year-old will finally be granted the space to shine. This could be a great opportunity for a deep run as he’s facing the erratic Jan-Lennard Struff, who struggled to beat Flavio Cobolli on Wednesday, letting the match go to a third set tie-breaker.
Prediction: Paul in 3
Yoshihito Nishioka vs Sebastian Korda
Head-to-head: First meeting
Clay is usually not Yoshihito Nishioka’s favorite hunting ground, but the past two weeks have seen him score a couple of great upsets over the likes of Gael Monfils and Lorenzo Musetti. Perhaps it’s the flatter backhand that doesn’t really allow him to make much noise on the surface. Still, it takes a certain degree of patience to deal with a counter-puncher of this class. Musetti didn’t have it at all on Wednesday. Can fellow NextGen Sebastian Korda do better? His clay-court season had been a disaster before this week, with just a single match victory, but the American might be picking it up just in time for the French Open. His win over Lorenzo Sonego was top-class. If he can bring that level on Thursday too, this could be relatively straightforward.
Prediction: Korda in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
