It has been a week of absolutely spectacular tennis and we still have the semifinal and final rounds left at the ATP Vienna Open. The 2022 edition of the tournament saw many top players enter the draw in hopes of boosting their ATP Finals chances and while most of them failed to capitalise, there are a couple of players still looking to increase their hopes. As ever, we at LWOT preview and predict both semifinal clashes for you.
ATP Vienna Semifinal Predictions
Borna Coric vs Denis Shapovalov
Head to head – Coric 2-1 Shapovalov
Borna Coric‘s week so far has been one of sheer grit and fighting spirit. The Croat has endured tough three setters in all his matches this week including wins over second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz. He has beaten Denis Shapovalov twice but his only loss came earlier this month in Tokyo and it remains to be seen how much of a role that plays.
Denis Shapovalov has had a hit and miss kind of year and is yet to win a title this year which is not at all tantamount to his talent and game. The Canadian is guilty of spraying his groundstrokes but it’s also what makes him exciting to watch and gets him the wins against top players. It’s a double edged sword and while he has taken out the likes of Taylor Fritz, he is due for an off day. Expect Coric to recover well from his titanic matches to be consistent from the baseline and keep drawing errors from Shapovalov.
Prediction: Coric in 3
Grigor Dimitrov vs Daniil Medvedev
Head to head – Dimitrov 2-3 Medvedev
It’s been a resurgent Grigor Dimitrov on display thus far. The 31-year-old Bulgarian’s 2022 season has been subpar but he has played well in this particular stretch of the season and is definitely one of the players to watch out for if he can regain his confidence. Dimitrov has taken out quality opponents so far but his biggest challenge awaits him in Daniil Medvedev.
The Russian is defending a decent amount of points till the season end which makes this match and the subsequent one of great importance for Medvedev. These two have played each other five times but this is the first time they lock horns on an indoor court. Dimitrov’s best chance of countering the Russian’s game is on a slow court but Vienna is quick and skiddy. Expect Dimitrov to fight and maybe even nab a set but the court conditions heavily favour the flat ground strokes employed by Medvedev as it did against Jannik Sinner.
Prediction: Medvedev in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
