The quarterfinal round of the first (and only) edition of the ATP Andalucia Open in Marbella, Spain is set. As many expected the likes of top seeds Pablo Carreno Busta, Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Casper Ruud all feature, along with 17-year-old phenom Carlos Alcaraz joins them. Let’s have a look at the matches in store for us.
ATP Marbella Quarterfinal Predictions
Norbert Gombos vs Albert Ramos-Vinolas
Head-to-head: Ramos-Vinolas 1-0
Before this week Gombos had lost his last four matches; in fact even at the Challenger event held in Marbella just last week he also lost in the first round. Given that it’s fair to say no one expected him to beat Juan Ignacio Londero and Federico Delbonis back-to-back and make the quarters here. Barring a miracle, however, this is where his great run ends. Ramos has been having a good year on the clay courts with a semi-final and final on the surface just last month and it’s hard to see him not adding to that. The Spaniard will be far too solid with too much game for Gombos.
Prediction: Ramos-Vinolas in 2
Ilya Ivashka vs Jaume Munar
Head-to-head: 0-0
Munar is coming off a huge win in the previous round, absolutely routing second seed Fabio Fognini with just the loss of three games. It might be hard to back up a big win like that but in fairness with no disrespect to his opponent, Ivashka is the perfect opponent to play the very next day. On this surface the Spaniard is most definitely the better of the two and I don’t expect a let down.
Prediction: Munar in 2
Pablo Carreno Busta vs Soonwoo Kwon
Head-to-head: 0-0
Going into this week we had no idea what to expect from the South Korean on this surface. Coming in with zero wins on the clay, many expected him to lose his opening match against up and coming teenager Holger Rune. Instead he battled through in a final set tiebreak then handily dispatched of Bagnis to set up an encounter with the top seed. Honestly, we still don’t know what to expect of Kwon on clay but this will probably be asking of too much too early to think he can take a Top 10 in the world claycourter just yet.
Prediction: Carreno Busta in 2
Casper Ruud vs Carlos Alcaraz
Head-t0-head: 0-0
What a match we have here. A 17-year-old battles a 22-year-old, and possibly gives a glimpse into the future of the sport, especially on this surface. Ruud has already shown us he’s rapidly improving and able to compete with the best, such as beating Matteo Berrettini in Rome last year and putting up a good fight against world #1 Djokovic in the next round. Given all of this it’s maybe asking too much of the Spanish sensation to turn his first ATP quarterfinal into a first semifinal. The framework of the teenager’s game is great, but in order to win matches like this you would think it needs to be more polished around the edges, which will take some time.
Prediction: Ruud in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
