Antwerp QF previews and predictions: Murray vs. Copil, Wawrinka vs. Simon

The Antwerp quarterfinals include a nice mix of veterans and up-and-comers, and at least two from the former group will advance on Friday. Andy Murray is going up against Marius Copil, while Stan Wawrinka clashes with Gilles Simon.

(PR) Andy Murray vs. (Q) Marius Copil

Murray and Copil will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers when they clash in the European Open quarterfinals on Friday. Both of their previous encounters have gone Murray’s way; 6-4, 6-3 at the 2017 Madrid Masters and 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(4) last summer in Washington, D.C. The latter contest was especially memorable, as it lasted three hours and two minutes and left the Scot in tears because he knew afterward that his hip was in shambles. He withdrew prior to his next match in D.C., played only three more tournaments the rest of 2018, and underwent surgery in February. Murray’s comeback is in full swing now and he is through to his second quarterfinal in the span of three events thanks to straight-set defeats of Kimmer Coppejans and Pablo Cuevas.

Copil can be force on fast surfaces and especially indoors, as both of his ATP finals have come in this kind of setting (runner-up last year in Sofia and Basel). The 92nd-ranked Romanian is a horrendous 8-18 on the main tour this season, but he has advanced so far in Antwerp by beating Federico Delbonis (straights) and Diego Schwartzman (9-7 in a third-set tiebreaker). An ever-improving Murray has always excelled at breaking down big servers and he will likely do it again on Friday.

Pick: Murray in 2

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(4) Stan Wawrinka vs. Gilles Simon

Wawrinka knows a thing or two about injuries, as well, and his latest one (knee) sidelined him from the end of the U.S. Open until now. The 34-year-old Swiss earned an opening bye in Antwerp as the No. 4 seed before outlasting Feliciano Lopez 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(4) on Wednesday. Luckily he had a day off to recover from that two-hour and 19-minute tussle with the 38-year-old Spaniard.

Next up for Wawrinka is an eighth career contest against Simon, who trails the head-to-head series 4-3 (not including a Futures meeting 16 years ago). The two veterans have not faced each other since 2016, when Wawrinka got the job done in Monte-Carlo before Simon prevailed in Shanghai. This is their first-ever encounter at anything other than a Grand Slam or Masters 1000. The 34-year-old Frenchman was an alarming 3-8 in his last 11 matches dating back to Wimbledon prior to this week, but so far in Antwerp he has knocked off Steve Darcis and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets. Wawrinka, though, appears to be back in decent shape and should have too much firepower on this surface.

Pick: Wawrinka in 3

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