Only four men remain as the battle for the Swedish Open crown reaches its conclusion this weekend. Chile’s Nicolas Jarry is seeking a first ATP tour title and is one of three South Americans in the semifinals.
We analyze the two semifinals and predict who will advance into the showpiece final.
ATP Swedish Open Semifinal Predictions
Nicolas Jarry vs Federico Delbonis
Head-To-Head: First meeting
Nicolas Jarry was in imperious form yet again as he recorded his third consecutive straight sets win this week, beating Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-1 6-4 in just 74 minutes. The big-hitting Chilean has had an up and down clay-court campaign highlighted by a quarterfinal showing in Barcelona as a lucky loser, and then losing in the opening round in Estoril and failing to qualify entirely in both Madrid and Rome.
Jarry peaked again in Geneva where he was denied his maiden title by Alexander Zverev in a thrilling final. Jarry would subsequently lose in the first round at Roland Garros to Juan Martin del Potro. However, in the midst of the topsy-turvy clay swing, he has at least been winning matches on the surface and was whisker away from capturing his first title. Will he be able to make amends and have another crack at the title this weekend?
Federico Delbonis will stand in his way. The hard-hitting Argentine will be a complete change of pace for Jarry in every department. The 28-year-old eked out another solid win over Portugal’s Joao Sousa in the quarterfinal, winning 78% of first serve points. That victory extended his winning streak to eight matches following his run to the Perugia Challenger crown last week.
Delbonis’ top-spin forehand is undeniably tailor-made for the clay. The Argentinian is on a roll right now and he will be a difficult man to stop. Jarry will face his toughest assignment of the week, and I think he will come up short.
Prediction: Delbonis in 3
Juan Ignacio Londero vs Albert Ramos Vinolas
Head-To-Head: First meeting
Juan Ignacio Londero produced a battling display in his quarterfinal win over Richard Gasquet to advance to his second ATP tour semifinal. The 25-year-old withstood 13 aces from the Frenchman’s racket and saved seven of nine break points faced to reach the last four in Bastad, in nearly three hours of playing time. Londero, who is currently ranked No.71 after falling a few spots from his career-high ranking, now owns a 17-11 record on tour this year. He will next face Albert Ramos Vinolas, who also needed three sets to book his spot in the his first semifinal of 2019. The 31-year-old left-hander won all-Spanish affair against compatriot Roberto Carballes Baena.
The unseeded Spaniard is coming off a strong semifinal run in the Perugia Challenger last week and is pushing for a strong second half of 2019. At this juncture last year, Ramos Vinolas would embark on a terrible run of results, which included just four wins between Wimbledon and the Paris Masters, losing ten opening round matches in the process. However, he looks like a revitalized man and is hitting the ball so pure at the moment, and given his good record in Bastad over the years, I fancy him to prevail in this one.
Prediction: Ramos Vinolas in 3
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
Disagree with our Swedish Open semifinal predictions? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.
