It should be a quarterfinal Thursday drenched with drama and entertainment at the ATP Winston-Salem Open as some of the tournament favorites take on unfancied underdogs. Who will book their places in the semifinals?
ATP Winston-Salem Quarterfinal Predictions
Jiri Lehecka vs Max Purcell
Head-to-head: Lehecka 1-0 Purcell
It’s been a fantastic summer for Max Purcell, who will be playing his 15th match this month on Thursday afternoon. Strangely enough, he’s not shown any apparent lack of effort or signs of fatigue. He’s determined to be here for the long haul. The same cannot be said of Jiri Lehecka who had the misfortune of drawing the short straw in his last two tournaments playing top-10 players early doors and losing both times. The Czech beat Purcell in their only previous meeting in two tiebreaks at last year’s Australian Open qualifying. But with the kind of run Purcell is in at the moment, he has every reason to be steaming with confidence here.
Prediction: Purcell in 3
Borna Coric vs Juan Manuel Cerundolo
Head-to-head: first meeting
Borna Coric is looking to make up for lost points at the Cincinnati Masters where his title defense ended in the second round. He’s taken some encouraging steps in that regard, coming through a couple of potential banana peels in Winston-Salem. Juan Manuel Cerundolo re-entered the top 100 this week, benefitting from a host of names dropping out due to lack of form.
And now the young Argentine has shockingly produced a maiden quarterfinal run on hard courts with two massive wins over seasoned campaigners like Roman Safiullin and Yannick Hanfmann. His win over Omni Kumar was perhaps expected. Coric will be a massive step in quality though, and the Croatian star should canter to a straight-sets win.
Prediction: Coric in 2
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Laslo Djere vs Sebastian Baez
Head-to-head: Baez 1-0 Djere
We have a meeting between two players who are famed for their penchant for clay courts, but Laslo Djere has become somewhat of an all-round athlete. The Serbian’s greater dexterity and agility to move seamlessly on hard courts gives him a significant edge in this matchup. Baez’s adaptability to this surface takes too much work, and it was a major surprise he even managed to topple an in-form Vukic in the second round. That win could be attributed to the Aussie playing non-stop tennis this season and needing a break to let the lactic acid fade a little. Djere, however, will not have any fitness concerns and has a higher upside at least on this surface.
Prediction: Djere in 2
Sebastian Korda vs Richard Gasquet
Head-to-head: Korda 1-0 Gasquet
Following his straight-sets win over Marton Fucsovics, American Sebastian Korda has now tallied back-to-back wins for the first time since Queen’s. He is rising to the occasion, just in time, ahead of the 2023 US Open. Despite dropping his serve twice, two wins from two give him some reassurance he has rediscovered that winning habit. He’ll be tested by a resurgent Richard Gasquet who is coming off an odds-defying win in the previous round when he eliminated Brandon Nakashima. Like Korda, the Frenchman has enjoyed an upturn in fortunes this week, but it is doubtful if he’ll even get enough purchase on his returns against the big-serving third seed.
Prediction: Korda in 2
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
