At least one German will be featured in three of the four quarterfinal matches on Friday in Munich. The lone all-German affair pits Tommy Haas against Florian Mayer, while Philipp Kohlschreiber is facing Viktor Troicki.
(6) Florian Mayer vs. (3) Tommy Haas
Mayer and Haas will be going head-to-head for the fifth time in their careers when the two Germans collide in the quarterfinals of the BMW Open on Friday. Haas is dominating the head-to-head series 4-0, including 2-0 on clay. He has never lost a single set to Mayer and only one has progressed to a tiebreaker. They most recently faced each other last season on the slow stuff in Hamburg, where Haas cruised 6-1, 6-4.
The 35-year-old is still going strong in what is presumably the twilight of his career. He reached the Miami semifinals earlier this spring and improved his 2013 record to 15-7 by defeating an in-form Ernests Gulbis 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-1 on Thursday. Mayer, six years younger than his compatriot but also a veteran at 29, is just 11-10 for the season. However, he may be heating up with a semifinal showing last week in Bucharest and victories in Munich over Lukasz Kubot and Marinko Matosevic.
Nothing bodes well for Mayer in this matchup. His past history against Haas has been a disaster and he has already spent a ton of time on court this week, needing three tough sets to get past both Kubot and Matosevic. With far fewer offensive weapons than his opponent, the No. 6 seed would need a real off day from Haas in order to have a realistic chance.
Pick: Haas in 2
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(4) Philipp Kohlschreiber vs. Viktor Troicki
Troicki and Kohlschreiber will also be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers on Friday. Kohlschreiber leads the head-to-head series 3-1 after winning their most recent encounter 6-1, 7-6(2) on the hard courts of Dubai in 2011. Their only previous clay-court meeting came three years ago at the World Team Cup in Dusseldorf, where Kohlschreiber prevailed 7-6(1), 6-4.
A horrid 6-10 for his 2013 campaign prior to this week, Troicki suddenly appears to be finding his range. The Serb opened in Munich with a 6-3, 6-2 blowout of Matthias Bachinger before taking care of Radek Stepanek 6-4, 6-4. Kohlschreiber earned a first-round bye as the No. 4 seed then eased past Evgeny Korolev 6-2, 6-4. The 21st-ranked German is a modest 11-8 for the year mainly due to an injury suffered during first-round Davis Cup action. Now that Kohlschreiber is healthy and playing at home, there is no reason why he should not advance.
Pick: Kohlschreiber in 3
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