The first batch of quarterfinalists at the ATP 250 in Gstaad will be determined on Wednesday. Top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and former champion Fabio Fognini will headline the day’s schedule. So, who will advance?
ATP Gstaad Day 3 Predictions
Juan Pablo Varillas vs Fabio Fognini
Head-to-head: first meeting
The brief post-Wimbledon clay-court stop has been one of Fabio Fognini’s most productive periods during the season. He has won multiple titles in the past, including the 2017 edition of the Gstaad Open. But at 37, does he still have one final flourish? Juan Pablo Varillas will outmatch him with his strength and agility, but the Italian has not lost his craft and shotmaking, which were the bedrock of his superb straight-sets win in the first round.
Prediction: Fognini in 3
Botic van de Zandschulp vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry
Head-to-head: first meeting
It’s one win in five matches for Tomas Martin Etcheverry. That is not the record you want to have heading to your first Olympics. On the bright side, he can still turn it around at this tournament. Botic van de Zandschulp has won five of his last six matches on clay—a run that includes a runner-up finish at the Braunschweig Challenger. Although Etcheverry is the superior player on the surface, the formbook heavily favors the Dutchman.
Prediction: van de Zandschulp in 3
Jan-Lennard Struff vs Leandro Riedi
Head-to-head: Riedi 1-0 Struff
Jan-Lennard Struff is playing the best tennis of his career at 34. The surprise bit is that half of his 24 wins this season have been on clay. He won his first ATP title on the surface in April at his home tournament in Munich. The altitude in Gstaad suits his game. He showed why that was the case when he served himself out of trouble against Albert Ramos Vinolas in the first round. Leandro Riedi was equally efficient in beating Gregoire Barrere. Like Struff, his groundstrokes are penetrating and effective in this environment. But I’d still have the German as the favorite on the back of his best season and his results on clay.
Prediction: Struff in 3
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Hamad Medjedovic
Head-to-head: first meeting
Stefanos Tsitsipas was a standout performer in his first pitstop on the European clay earlier this year. He bagged his third title in Monte Carlo and advanced to the quarterfinals or better in three more tournaments on the surface. Hamad Medjedvoic enters this match with his reputation as one of the best NextGen players intact despite his inability to break the Top 100. It is pertinent to note that the young Serb missed the first part of the clay-court swing in April because of injury. Medjedovic’s talent is undeniable, but Tsitsipas is back on his favorite surface, and his aggressive baseline game shines the most on it.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 2
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
