A pair of all-seeded quarterfinal matchups are on the schedule for Friday in Bangkok. Richard Gasquet is going up against Mikhail Youzhny and Milos Raonic is facing Feliciano Lopez.
(5) Mikhail Youzhny vs. (2) Richard Gasquet
Gasquet and Youzhny will be squaring off for the 10th time in their careers and for the third time this season when they collide in the Bangkok quarterfinals on Thursday. Youzhny leads the head-to-head series 5-4, but Gasquet has won four of their seven previous hard-court meetings. They have split their pair of 2013 encounters; Gasquet prevailed 6-3, 6-4 in Miami before Youzhny cruised 6-3, 6-2 on the grass courts of Halle.
Both players are coming off outstanding U.S. Open campaigns. Gasquet outlasted Milos Raonic and David Ferrer in five-setters en route to the semifinals. Youzhny overcame Lleyton Hewitt in five sets before falling to Novak Djokovic in a four-set quarterfinal. This is Gasquet’s first event since New York and he opened on Thursday with a 6-3, 6-2 rout of Lukas Lacko. Youzhny fell in the St. Petersburg second round last week, but so far in Bangkok he has taken out Paolo Lorenzi and Denis Istomin in easy straight sets. The 20th-ranked Russian has always been a force indoors, so he may pull off a slight upset in this one.
Pick: Youzhny in 3
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(6) Feliciano Lopez vs. (3) Milos Raonic
Raonic’s U.S. Open loss to Gasquet was immediately preceded by a 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Lopez. That was the second career showdown between Raonic and Lopez, with the first one going to Lopez via a 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4 decision on the clay courts of the 2011 Madrid event.
Raonic is 34-17 for the year after holding off Marinko Matosevic 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4 on Thursday. The 11th-ranked Canadian’s summer also included a runner-up showing in Montreal. Lopez dismissed both Serbian wild card Laslo Djere and Go Soeda in straight sets to book his spot in the quarters. The 25th-ranked Spaniard is now 26-15 for the season, which is highlighted by a title in Eastbourne. This will be a serve-fest on an indoor hard court, and Raonic will almost always have the edge in that department.
Pick: Raonic in 3
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i pick Gasquet in 3 and Raonic in 3
I picked gasquet and raonic both in 3 tough sets!