The ATP Beijing Open has been terrific viewing so far. That is unsurprising due to the very strong draw for the tournament, despite four players withdrawing from the event. The quarterfinal stage has now been reached. Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz and 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev are just two of the top players in action. We at LWOT provide our analysis and predictions in this article. But which players do you think will reach the semifinals?
ATP Beijing Quarterfinal Predictions
Ugo Humbert vs Daniil Medvedev
Head-to-head: Humbert 2-0 Medvedev
Medvedev’s superb hard-court results make it seem difficult for anyone to stop him. But Humbert possesses the playing style that the recent US Open finalist dislikes. The Frenchman is very comfortable at the net, and is capable of taking advantage of Medvedev’s very deep returning position. Humbert winning his two previous meetings with the five-time Grand Slam finalist shows this. The inconsistency of Humbert this season, and the Beijing conditions suiting Medvedev’s game mean I am still backing the self-titled hard court specialist. But this could be a very interesting match.
Prediction: Medvedev in 3
Alexander Zverev vs Nicolas Jarry
Head-to-head: Zverev 3-2 Jarry
The head-to-head between these two is close, and they have both beaten each other in 2023. However, they have never met on a hard-court. Jarry has had a superb season so far. That has included vast improvement on hard and grass courts, having previously been known as a clay court specialist. Nonetheless, I expect Zverev to overcome the Chilean’s challenge. The German is playing his best tennis since his comeback from that terrible injury at Roland-Garros last year. Jarry does have a chance if he hits his huge serve well in the fast conditions at the ATP Beijing Open. But I think he will struggle to create chances on Zverev’s serve, and be left consistently off-balance in the baseline exchanges.
Prediction: Zverev in 2
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Jannik Sinner vs Grigor Dimitrov
Head-to-head: Sinner 1-1 Dimitrov
Dimitrov played superbly against Holger Rune in the last round. It was nice to see the Bulgarian beat a high-ranked opponent. His season had previously seen him consistently win matches, but regularly fall short against players in or near the Top 10. I do fear for Dimitrov against Sinner though. The Toronto Masters champion’s ball-striking was ominously good against Yoshihito Nishioka, and he seemed to have fully overcome any injury concerns from his first-round with Dan Evans. Dimitrov does have the ability to change the pace with his slice, which is a useful tactic against Sinner. Yet I still expect Sinner’s clean ball-striking ability to overwhelm Dimitrov at the ATP Beijing Open.
Prediction: Sinner in 2
Carlos Alcaraz vs Casper Ruud
Head-to-head: Alcaraz 3-0 Ruud
Ruud deserves a lot of credit for how he dug in to narrowly beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry in a final-set tiebreak in the previous round. But the reality is he will need to improve drastically to have a chance against Alcaraz. The Spaniard swept aside Lorenzo Musetti in ominously easy fashion. Mental scarring from losing a Miami Masters and US Open final to Alcaraz will not help Ruud’s cause. In truth, the Norwegian is a big underdog, and has little to lose this time. That may help him swing more freely in the fast conditions at the ATP Beijing Open. Expect the all-round class of Alcaraz to have too much. However, I do think Ruud will put in a strong performance.
Prediction: Alcaraz in 3
Main Photo Credit: Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
