Ilya Ivashka lost only three total games in his Winston-Salem third-round match, but the competition level increases dramatically in the form of Pablo Carreno Busta. Emil Ruusuvuori and Richard Gasquet are also in quarterfinal action on Thursday.
(1) Pablo Carreno Busta vs. Ilya Ivashka
Carreno Busta and Ivashka will be squaring off for the third time in their careers when they clash in the Winston-Salem Open quarterfinals on Thursday. Both of their previous meetings have gone Carreno Busta’s way (6-0, 7-5, 6-2 at the 2016 U.S. Open and 6-2, 6-3, 7-6(7) at the 2019 Australian Open).
There is no real reason to think anything will be different at one of the 12th-ranked Spaniard’s favorite tournaments. He is 15-5 lifetime in Winston-Salem with one title (2016), and so far this week he has ousted Soonwoo Kwon and Dominik Koepfer–the latter via an impressive 6-2, 6-3 scoreline. Ivashka dropped only three games to Jan-Lennard Struff on Wednesday, but Carreno Busta is a whole different beast. Another straight-setter is likely in the cards for this matchup.
Pick: Carreno Busta in 2
(14) Richard Gasquet vs. Emil Ruusuvuori
The careers of Gasquet and the rest of his French generation appear to be nearing an end, but he is among the select few that cannot be counted out quite yet. At 35 years old, Gasquet is still well inside the top 100 at 82nd in the rankings and he reached the final on the clay courts of Umag last month. Now he finds himself in the Winston-Salem quarters following straight-set victories (a total of three tiebreakers included) over Egor Gerasimov and Dan Evans.
Up next for Gasquet on Thursday is a first-ever encounter with Ruusuvuori. The 22-year-old Finn has climbed to No. 76 in the world and he will reach a career-high at least into the mid-60s if he beats Gasquet. Also a semifinalist in Atlanta last month, Ruusuvuori has advanced this week by beating Denis Kudla, Alexander Bublik, and Benoit Paire–dropping just one set to Paire in the process. Ruusuvuori is in better form on hard courts and Gasquet looked alarmingly fatigued against Evans, so this may be a straightforward day at the office for the youngster.
Pick: Ruusuvuori in 2
WWW?
PCB in 3
Ruusuvuori in 3
Carreno is 50/50. He was flat in his first round match and then beat an opponent that matches up well. Koepfer wins many of his matches by exploiting backhands which doesnt work too well against Carreno.
This could be his most difficult match so far but he could win it convincingly. I just think there’s some warning signs that PCB may have already peaked for the year.
Gasquet has a lot more experience than Ruusuvuori but as you said, he could be very fatigued. We will see.
Richard (his surname wont work in this forum) has a lot more experience than Ruusuvuori as well but as you said he could be very fatigued. I think he’s playing well enough to at least win a set.