It promises to be an entertaining day of quarterfinal action at the ATP Den Bosch Open and, as ever, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the slate, as well as all the quarterfinal action in Stuttgart. But who will secure their spot in the last four in the Netherlands?
ATP Den Bosch Quarterfinal Predictions
Alex de Minaur vs Milos Raonic
Head-to-head: de Minaur 2-0 Raonic
Alex de Minaur has won both of his previous matches against Milos Raonic, albeit his victory earlier this year in the first round at the Australian Open came was the Canadian’s retirement. He may find a fit and firing Raonic harder to handle on the grass.
Injuries have robbed the big-serving former-Wimbledon finalist of much of his physical resilience, but when he gets on a roll, he can still be very hard to stop in favourable conditions. That said, one has to wonder how much he has left in the tank after a taxing second-round win over Roberto Bautista Agut and de Minaur is better-equipped than most to neutralise Raonic’s big serve.
Prediction: de Minaur in 3
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Ugo Humbert vs Gijs Brouwer
Head-to-head: first meeting
It has been a great week for the Dutchman Gijs Brouwer. He opened his campaign in the qualifying, beating Nicolas Moreno de Alboran and Cristian Garin to reach the main draw before battling past Jakub Mensik in three hard-fought sets. He then stunned the (admittedly out-of-form) fifth seed Adrian Mannarino to reach the last eight. But it is hard to see him going any further. Ugo Humbert’s game is well-suited to the grass, and he has looked sharp so far at the ATP Den Bosch Open. He should have too much for Brouwer here.
Prediction: Humbert in 2
Tallon Griekspoor vs Aleksandar Vukic
Head-to-head: first meeting
Tallon Griekspoor may be a hard man to beat this week. The defending champion came agonising close to stunning eventual finalist Alexander Zverev in the fourth round at the French Open, but appears to have bounced back from that defeat quickly back on home turf.
He was pushed to the limit in the fist round against Miomir Kecmanovic, but got the better of the Serbian 6-7 7-6 7-6 before a more comfortable day at the office against Mackenzie McDonald. If he can maintain that level, he should have the beating of Aleksandar Vukic – though the Australian, who beat fourth seed Karen Khachanov in the second round, deserves credit for a very good week in his own right.
Prediction: Griekspoor in 2
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Sebastian Korda vs Tommy Paul
Head-to-head: Korda 3-1 Paul
This may well prove to be the best match of the quarterfinals. Tommy Paul’s game is probably better-suited to hard courts than grass courts, but his superb movement makes him a tough opponent no matter the surface. Korda has perhaps more natural affinity for grass-court tennis (though there is not a huge amount in it) thanks to his easy power and clean ball-striking, but he can lose his range at times.
That could prove costly against Paul who will not be easy to hit through. Paul is also having a better season than his countryman and also won their most recent match, albeit that win snapped a run of three-straight losses and was very hard-fought. Another close encounter looks to be on the cards here, but don’t be surprised if the second-seeded Paul has just about enough to get past Korda.
Prediction: Paul in 3
Main photo credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
