Milos Raonic and Dominic Thiem will continue their St. Petersburg campaigns on Friday. They are set for respective quarterfinal meetings with Tommy Robredo and Denis Istomin.
(5) Tommy Robredo vs. (2) Milos Raonic
Raonic has mostly been an afterthought on tour since a foot injury began troubling him after the Madrid Masters. The Canadian missed the French Open before getting bounced out during third-round action in each of the next two Grand Slams. But indoor hard courts should help Raonic rely on his booming serve and keep points short. The second seed had no trouble of any kind in his debut match at the St. Petersburg Open on Thuesday, cruising past Evgeny Donskoy 6-4, 6-4 while firing 13 aces without a single double-fault.
Up next for Raonic is a fifth career encounter with Robredo. The head-to-head series stands at a perfect 4-0 in favor of Raonic, who is 2-0 at the Spaniard’s expense this season and 1-0 on hard courts. The world No. 9 prevailed 6-3, 6-2 at the Indian Wells Masters and 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 on the clay of Monte-Carlo. Coming off a third-round performance at the U.S. Open, Robredo booked his spot in the quarterfinals this week by taking out Mikhail Youzhny in three sets and Marcos Baghdatis in straights. The 33-year-old Spaniard has now picked up two wins at three consecutive tournaments and he is no stranger to success in this part of the season–last year he finished runner-up to Andy Murray in both Shenzhen and Valencia. Still, Robredo would much rather contest this one on a slower surface.
Pick: Raonic in 2
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(3) Dominic Thiem vs. Denis Istomin
Thiem and Istomin will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers and for the second time in as many tournaments when they meet again on Friday. They just faced each other in round two of the U.S. Open, with Thiem advancing via retirement while cruising 6-4, 6-4, 1-0. A considerable workload has not seemed to be a detriment to Istomin’s physical state. The 62nd-ranked Uzbek went 1-1 in a Davis Cup loss to the United States last weekend, outlasting Steve Johnson in five sets before falling to Jack Sock in four. Making a surface change from clay to indoor hard courts, Istomin has handled it admirably with three-set victories in St. Petersburg over Mikhail Kukushkin and Benjamin Becker.
Thiem, on the other hand, has played only one match since losing to Kevin Anderson during third-round action at Flushing Meadows. The 21st-ranked Austrian earned an opening bye this week as the No. 3 seed before getting the best of compatriot Andreas Haider-Maurer 6-2, 7-6(2). A well-rested Thiem will have too much power on a fast surface for Istomin, who will likely be feeling of the effects of so much recent tennis.
Pick: Thiem in 2
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I would say robredo in 3 but I already said robredo in two tight sets so I’m keeping that prediction and I’m going with thiem in straights as well.
Oh wait never mind I said robredo in three in first place so that’s my pick. Robredo in 3 and Thiem in 2. Should be good day of tennis tomorrow at both places. The quarterfinal matches you predicted here and in Metz are probably the best ones tomorrow. The other two quarters at each place aren’t the greatest matchups compared to these.
Because it’s an indoor hard court surface, I am going with Raonic in 3 sets over Robredo.
Thiem in 2 sets over Istomin.
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