The ATP Kitzbuhel quarterfinal matches are set. Home favorite Dominic Thiem is through to a third consecutive quarterfinal, and the home crowd should have plenty to cheer about. As throughout the week, we will be offering up our predictions on the day’s play. So, who reaches the semifinals?
ATP Kitzbuhel Quarterfinal Predictions
Albert Ramos-Vinolas vs Pedro Martinez
Head-to-head: First meeting
Two Spaniards who are totally at home on the clay. This match has the potential to be an absolute slug-fest, with both men grinding out every point until the last ball. Martinez has played some great tennis of late, and continues to look an assured player on tour.
Ramos-Vinolas looked rock solid in his win over Juan Pablo Varillas, and is an increasing threat at this tournament. Given he and Martinez are somewhat similar in how they play, this could be a really interesting battle. I’ve got to go with Ramos-Vinolas here–he’s so tough to break down and even a grinder like Martinez will run out of ideas eventually.
Prediction: Ramos-Vinolas in 3
Roberto Bautista Agut vs Jiri Lehecka
Head-to-head: First meeting
Bautista Agut won very comfortably over the potentially dangerous Jurij Rodionov. He’s looking good once again as he gears up towards the US hard court swing, and he’ll be hoping for big dose of confidence this week.
Lehecka did very well to come through in three sets against Joao Sousa, claiming an impressive win on the red dirt. This will be a big step up though, as Bautista Agut will get a lot more balls back, and his point construction is exceptional. Lehecka may offer up some resistance, but the Spaniard should have all the answers here.
Prediction: Bautista Agut in 2
Filip Misolic vs Dusan Lajovic
Head-to-head: First meeting
Misolic picked up a highly impressive scalp today by taking down Pablo Andujar. The young Austrian has been playing some great consistent tennis on the Challenger circuit of late, and this could be an immense breakthrough for him.
Lajovic didn’t have too many issues fending off the explosive Aslan Karatsev. Though he’s not in the same form we’ve seen in the past from him, he’s still a great clay courter and can never be written off. I can see Misolic challenging Lajovic really well here – he makes a lot of balls and is very crafty on these courts. That said, I think Lajovic has enough in his locker and weapons at his disposal to get through this test.
Prediction: Lajovic in 3
Dominic Thiem vs Yannick Hanfmann
Head-to-head: First meeting
Dominic Thiem is keeping up his good return to form here, reaching a third consecutive ATP quarterfinal. He really struggled after the first det against Ofner, but managed to find a way despite being way off his best. This win was ugly, but it’s only going to help the Austrian in this comeback phase of his career.
Hanfmann was somewhat fortunate to avoid Griekspoor, as the Dutchman withdrew. The German came through a very tight encounter with Gakhov, and he won’t like the look of his upcoming match. If Thiem is now finding ways to win while playing poorly, then I don’t see how Hanfmann is coming through this one. If the US Open champion brings the level he showed against Shevchenko, then there shouldn’t be many issues for Thiem here.
Prediction: Thiem in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
