The field at the ATP 250 in Gstaad is down to eight men. Quarterfinals day will feature one all-qualifier battle and the potential collision between two former Italian champions at the tournament. So, who will advance into the semifinal?
ATP Gstaad Quarterfinal Predictions
Quentin Halys vs Gustavo Heide
Head-to-head: first meeting
Gustavo Heide is having a breakthrough week in Gstaad. The 22-year-old qualifier upset second seed Ugo Humbert for a career-best win to reach his first ATP quarterfinal. He saved all nine break points he faced during the match. One more win will secure his spot in the Top 150 for the first time. Like Heide, Quentin Halys also advanced from the qualifying rounds to reach his first Tour-level quarterfinal of the season. The Frenchman has required a lot of tie-break sets to win his matches and will probably need at least one more to move past the talented Brazilian. This will be close.
Prediction: Halys in 3
Jan-Lennard Struff vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry
Head-to-head: Etcheverry 1-0 Struff
Jan-Lennard Struff is making a mockery of the assertion that tall players struggle to play on slow-paced surfaces, especially on clay. He defeated Swiss wild card Leandro Riedi for his 13th win of the season on the dirt. Tomas Martin Etcheverry, meanwhile, scored a confidence-boosting win over Botic van de Zanschulp after a poor run of form in the past month. Clay extracts the very best level from the Argentinian. Struff’s serve has shone this week, averaging over 70% of points won behind his first and second serves. It will be the decisive shot in this match.
Prediction: Struff in 3
Matteo Berrettini vs Felix Auger-Aliassime
Head-to-head: Berrettini 4-2 Auger-Aliassime
Matteo Berrettini is not settling for anything but a spot in the Gstaad final. At least, that’s what history suggests if it is an indicator of his ambitions this week. He won the event on debut in 2018 without dropping his serve in the entire tournament and was a runner-up in his most recent trip two years ago.
Auger-Aliassme has savored his best tennis for the clay courts this season, and the conditions here are tailor-made for his big game. But the stats sheet tells a very different story. Berrettini’s serve has been rock solid in two matches, saving a combined three break points from four. This is another match where serve will be key.
Prediction: Berrettini in 3
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Fabio Fognini
Head-to-head: Tsitsipas 4-0 Fognini
Stefanos Tsitsipas clutched it out in his opening match. He needed to save four set points in the first set on his way to a 7-6 6- 3 victory over NextGen champion Hamad Medjedovic. Up next is former champion Fabio Fognini, whose spot in the quarterfinal is a bit of a surprise. But the Italian’s nous and creativity on this court remain undiluted. Still, the outcome rests on the top seed’s racket.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 2
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
