It’s the last chance to get some momentum going before the Olympics as the ATP Croatia Open is entering its quarterfinal stage in Umag. Top seed Andrey Rublev is facing one of the most prolific giant-killers in Fabian Marozsan. Who do you think will advance to the final four?
ATP Umag Quarterfinal Predictions
Jakub Mensik vs Chun-Hsin Tseng
Head-to-head: First meeting
Chun-Hsin Tseng had such a massive fall from grace when he first got to the ATP Tour, but he’s back to producing solid results this year with two Challenger titles and one further final. The Taiwanese got a bit lucky here getting directly into the second round after Holger Rune’s withdrawal, eventually taking care of Fabio Fognini in less than an hour. But now he’s facing a truly elite prospect in Jakub Mensik and his chances to prevail seem relatively slim.
Prediction: Mensik in 2
Francisco Cerundolo vs Lorenzo Sonego
Head-to-head: 1-1
Lorenzo Sonego saved two match points against Mili Poljicak in the opening round and took the final tie-break despite cramping hard. Getting a day of rest worked wonders though as he dispatched Alexandre Muller. Overall the Italian’s form has been very mediocre this year and he’ll need to step up to beat Francisco Cerundolo here. The 4th seed isn’t exactly the king of consistency either, but played a solid match to beat Matej Dodig on Wednesday. His hitting is more imposing if he can stay within the lines.
Prediction: Cerundolo in 2
Lorenzo Musetti vs Dusan Lajovic
Head-to-head: Musetti 2-0
Dusan Lajovic won this event five years ago and while he’s closer and closer to the end of his career, from time to time he still produces some magic. The win over Flavio Cobolli in the second round was high-quality, but he might need to up it even more with Lorenzo Musetti coming off that great grass season. The Italian can be a bit mercurial and with the Olympics coming up, who knows how motivated he’ll be to leave everything on the court here. But he’s still the favorite to win if he’s fully committed mentally.
Prediction: Musetti in 3
Andrey Rublev vs Fabian Marozsan
Head-to-head: First meeting
Andrey Rublev lost that aura he’s had over the past few years where you literally couldn’t beat him if you weren’t another elite player. This year a fair few competitors have already posted upset wins against him and Fabian Marozsan is one of the usual suspects in that department. With a balls-to-the-wall aggression mode, the Hungarian doesn’t get deep runs consistently but can beat pretty much anyone on the day. He’ll try to do everything to keep Rublev on his toes and might even succeed.
Prediction: Marozsan in 3
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
