The quarterfinals kick off Sunday at ATP Chengdu with an exciting day of matches. While no local players made it to the final eight, there will still be plenty of close matches for fans to enjoy. The tournament’s top three seeds have all made it to the quarterfinal round so there will be plenty of firepower, highlighted by the single all-seeded matchup between Alexander Zverev and Miomir Kecmanovic. Lorenzo Musetti will headline the early-day matches with Grigor Dimitrov sure to provide plenty of highlights during the evening match. As always, all matches are previewed at Last Word on Tennis.
ATP Chengdu Quarterfinal Predictions
Jordan Thompson vs Roman Safiullin
Head-to-head: 1-1
While they have yet to meet at tour-level, they have played twice including qualifying for Adelaide 2 this year, won by Thompson in straight sets. The two players are both in the middle of strong seasons, jumping into the top-60 after each being outside the top-100 in September of last year. Both players enjoy hard court and play similar games so there is no significant matchup advantage. Thompson has more experience with high-level tennis and has been on a strong run of form in this fall’s hard-court events. Both have looked good here having not dropped a set, but Thompson is more experienced and in better form so this one will be in his favor.
Prediction: Thompson in 3
Arthur Rinderknech vs Lorenzo Musetti
Head-to-head: First meeting
While Musetti is the #2 seed here and much higher ranked than Rinderknech, the hard court will make this match much closer than it is on paper. Rinderknech has a big serve which should help him on hard courts, but he has struggled on the surface with just a 6-11 record so far in 2023. Musetti has always favored clay courts but his hard court record has improved this season. This will come down to tiebreaks, as five of the seven sets they have played combined in Chengdu have resulted in breakers. Musetti is more experienced and will keep his composure on the big points and win a back-and-forth match.
Prediction Musetti in 3
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Grigor Dimitrov vs Christopher O’Connell
Head-to-head: 2-0 Dimitrov
These two are meeting in a rematch from a quarterfinal earlier this year in Geneva. The match was incredibly close with Dimitrov pulling out a tight three-setter. That match was on clay where Dimitrov is less comfortable compared to the hard courts where he has had some of his best results. O’Connell does not really have a favorite surface, as he can rally from the baseline well regardless of court speed. O’Connell is coming off some strong results of late, but he has not had much success against players at Dimitrov’s level. Dimitrov is good at limiting errors and winning matches that he should win, and this one will be no different. He simply has more tools and will be in control.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 2
Alexander Zverev vs Miomir Kecmanovic
Head-to-head: 1-1
Zverev finally looks close to his previous form before his ankle injury at last year’s French Open. He is coming off strong results on hard courts with a semifinal in Cincinnati and a quarterfinal at the US Open. Kecmanovic has not shown the same form. After a strong 2022, the Serbian has had tough results throughout this year and has not gotten a strong run together. Kecmanovic had won just one of his first four matches on the fall hard court swing and won both his matches connivingly though with a fairly easy draw. Kecmanovic does not have a strong enough return to get to the Zverev serve, and the top seed will score a few breaks to win big.
Prediction: Zverev in 2
Main Photo Credit: Peter van den Berg – USA TODAY Sports
