It’s the final four in St. Petersburg as the likes of Marin Cilic and Taylor Fritz have marched onto the semifinals. Let’s take a look at which players are favored to meet in the final at the St. Petersburg Open.
Botic Van De Zandschulp vs Marin Cilic
The Dutch qualifier has a had a career year, but has never reached an ATP final, he’s upset Andrey Rublev and Seb Korda this week to make this run and is backing up his US Open quarterfinal run as a qualifier quite well. I expect to see more of Van De Zandschulp next year. The veteran Cilic got through tough matches against Roberto Bautista Agut, and prior to that home player Karen Khachanov. A finalist in Moscow, Cilic is really enjoying his time in Russia as this has been his best stretch of the season. Cilic is the more notable player, but fatigue should be a factor and Van De Zandschulp is playing well right now. Van De Zandschulp in 3
Taylor Fritz vs Jan-Lennard Struff
Struff has a Wimbledon win over Fritz and has upset both Alexander Bublik and Denis Shapovalov back to back to reach this semifinal. The German has yet to drop a set this week and has made his best run at an ATP tournament since April. Fritz has also eased past the competition without dropping a set, he was favored against the likes of Tommy Paul and John Millman and got the job done in those matchups. This is a back to back semifinal for the American, as he made a surprise run in Indian Wells his last time out. Struff is a capable player, but Fritz is higher ranked and his recent track record is excellent, he should find a way to get a win here. Fritz in 2
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