Down to the last eight at the ATP Open Sud de France in Montpellier. We find ourselves with a lovely mix of players left, from the usual suspects we would expect such as Zverev we also have Mannarino continuing his good form as well as to the surprise of many Gasquet and Dzumhur also in the quarter-finals.
ATP Montpellier Quarter-Final predictions
Alexander Bublik vs Roberto Bautista-Agut
Head-to-head: 1-1
With Bublik it’s fair to say you never know what you’re going to get; one of the reasons for that is that he’s openly honest about not liking tennis so his level of motivation during matches is somewhat questionable whilst another reason is simply because his so big there’s a fine line between excellence and beating himself. This is a very hard one to call, Bautista-Agut in the set and a half he played against Simon last night was all but convincing whilst the man from Kazakhstan looked fairly good against Herbert despite dropping a set. On paper, the Spaniard should be able to grind his younger opponent down so it’s going to be a matter of whether Bublik can serve big enough and hit through Bautista-Agut enough before the errors come out. It’s a big ask but I like Bublik’s chances here in taking out the second seed.
Prediction: Bublik in 3
Damir Dzumhur vs Filip Krajinovic
Head-to-head: 0-0
It’s great to see Dzumhur back into an ATP Tour quarter-final having dropped outside the world’s top 150 but unfortunately for him he’s now ip against the fifth seed. The two have never met before but to anyone who’s seen both play, it’s a fair assumption to say that Krajinovic is a better version of the Bosnian with no offense intended. Dzumhur is solid but there’s no weapons that are able to hurt the better players in the world and on an indoor hardcourt, you usually need one to get results. Krajinovic on the other hand is all of that with a much better serve and backhand, it’s hard to go against him here.
Prediction: Krajinovic in 2
Mikael Ymer vs Richard Gasquet
Head-to-head: Ymer 1-0
Well, it’s safe to say no one expected Ymer to beat Monfils in the round of 16 let alone just dropping three games, but it’s great to see the Swede making another quarterfinal on tour after Adelaide last month. In his way is another resurgent top 10 Frenchman in Gasquet showing the tennis world he just isn’t quite done yet, with great wins over Humbert and Kwon to make it this far. It’s going to be an interesting battle, Ymer lacks weapons but at this stage in Gasquet’s career that might be the worst matchup for him. But hey, if Gasquet’s backhand is firing he’s able to beat almost anyone in the game. It will be close but purely because the 23 year old edged their only encounter on an indoor hardcourt two years ago and is a much better player now, I’ll give him the edge.
Prediction: Ymer in 3
Alexander Zverev vs Adrian Mannarino
Head-to-head: 6-0
If you look at their head-to-head you’ll probably think Zverev will cruise past the Frenchman yet again but the 6-0 is rather misleading given Mannarino has won sets in three of the six matches, the last two on indoor hardcourts. You can sort of see why as well, Mannarino’s left hand serve out wide on the ad-court opens up play well and somewhat exposes the German’s movement when trying to recover after a slider out wide. Plus the Frenchman takes the ball so early and flat he can rush Zverev to shorten his swings, something he does not like doing. Whilst I don’t think Mannarino will end up winning, I do think he can perhaps keep a set or so close against the top seed.
Prediction: Zverev in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
