Just four men are still standing at the ATP Belgrade Open. One is the heavy favourite to claim the title, three will be gunning for a shot at glory by denying him in his own backyard. But who will book their place in Saturday’s final and who will fall the frustration of defeat?
ATP Belgrade Semifinal Predictions
Novak Djokovic vs Andrej Martin
Head-to-head: first meeting
Perhaps unsurprisingly, with the pair having spent their careers playing in effectively different stratospheres, this will be the first meeting between Novak Djokovic and Andrej Martin. The Serbian arrived at the second ATP 250 held in the Serbian capital in recent weeks fresh from his run to the final in Rome, where it took the very best of Nadal to deny him in a three-set thriller. He has maintained that fine form so far this week, brushing aside Mats Moraing and Federico Coria.
In fact, the Argentine took just one game off him, which looks ominous for Martin. But the Slovakian is having a fine week, having started his tournament in the qualifying with wins over Akira Santillan and Moraing. He then battled past Christopher O’Connell from a set down before upsetting third seed Nikoloz Basilashvili in a third-set tiebreak. Martin then secured his chance to test himself against the world #1 with a 3-6 6-3 6-4 over Djokovic’s Davis and ATP Cup team-mate Dusan Lajovic.
However, it is hard to see him troubling Djokovic. Martin covers the court well and has solid groundstrokes, but he does not boast the sort of power that is required to hit through Djokovic. His serve will also surely be targeted by Djokovic, with Martin hitting it without the power and accuracy needed to keep Djokovic on the backfoot. Ultimately, this should be rather a mis-match, particularly if Djokovic maintains the level he displayed against Coria.
Prediction: Djokovic in 2
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Alex Molcan vs Federico Delbonis
Head-to-head: first meeting
This may prove to be a more competitive encounter than the first of the day’s semifinals. That being said, Federico Delbonis does come into this match as the favourite, with a considerable advantage in terms of experience. The Argentine enjoyed an excellent week last time out in Rome, picking up wins over Karen Khachanov, David Goffin and Felix Auger-Aliassime en route to the quarterfinals and he has impressed again so far in Belgrade.
He started his tournament with a 3-6 6-4 6-4 win over Lukas Klein and he backed that up by edging out Thiago Monteiro, 7-6 3-6 6-4, to reach the quarterfinals. He did not have to play a shot in anger there with Roberto Carballes Baena withdrawing before the match. Alex Molcan, meanwhile, beat Nerman Fatic and Carlos Gomez-Herrera to reach the main draw where he has accounted for Hamad Medjedovic, Pedja Krstin and Fernando Verdasco without losing more than a handful of games.
He will likely face sterner resistance against Delbonis. The Argentine is a good mover, but it is when he is given time on the ball that he is at his most effective, with his forehand in particular a dangerous weapon. Molcan cannot match him for weight of shot – although the Slovak hits a heavy topspin forehand of his own – but he has been moving very well and missing rarely. Still, as dominant as he has been this week, he does not seem likely to sweep Delbonis aside. And if the veteran can turn this into a dogfight, expect him to come out on top.
Prediction: Delbonis in 3
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