We are down to just four men at the ATP Mifel Tennis Open in Los Cabos, which is this week’s ultimate late-night entertainment. Top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas kept his chances of winning his first title of the season alive after surviving an onslaught on Thursday. And he must now beat a player who has caused him plenty of problems in the past. Who will reach the final in Los Cabos?
ATP Los Cabos Semifinal Predictions
Alex de Minaur vs Dominik Koepfer
Head-to-head: Koepfer 1-0 de Minaur
Alex de Minaur maintained his perfect record over Tommy Paul (5-0) in Thursday’s quarterfinals. In a rematch of their Acapulco final earlier this year, the result almost felt inevitable again, but the Aussie dug deep into his repertoire. He won five straight games from 1-3 down in the decider to extend his win streak in Mexico to eight matches.
Opponent Dominik Koepfer is having a dream week in Los Cabos. The German, who has a penchant for clay rather than hard courts, has reached his first ATP semifinal since the 2021 Mexican Open. Back then he ran the gauntlet before falling short to Alexander Zverev. The humid conditions in Los Cabos aid Koepfer to control his shots and apply enough spin. It’s been tougher to accelerate for hyper-aggressive players. de Minaur, however, is vastly versatile and he’ll frustrate Koepfer with his exceptional speed and retrieval skills. The Aussie has also pounced at every window of opportunity this week and that makes him a solid pick here.
Prediction: de Minaur in 2
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Borna Coric
Head-to-head: Tsitsipas 3-3 Coric
Tsitipas dropped a set to Nicolas Jarry in the quarterfinal, but in truth, he had that match firmly under control in the first set tiebreak. A momentary lapse in concentration cost him, but he didn’t let that moment dictate the match and he managed to wear down the Chilean with the occasional use of the drop shot and mixing it with the slice to limit his power. Coric’s progress has been seamless, dropping a combined 10 games to Jason Jung and Ilya Ivashka.
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Tsitsipas and Coric have played some breathtaking matches in their head-to-head, most notably their 2020 US Open barnburner which probably to this day left a scar on Tsitsipas. Tactically, Coric has been smart, using his double-fisted two-hander to pin Tsitsipas in his backhand corner most of the time, which is the Greek’s weaker flank, and his power is usually restricted from there. But that is unlikely to hurt Tsitsipas this week, given how he’s been able to make deep returns, with the slow court conditions giving him ample time to do that. Expect the top seed to survive.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 3
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
