There are more qualifiers and lucky losers than seeds remaining in Auckland heading into the quarterfinals on Thursday. No. 8 Alex Michelsen faces Nishesh Basavareddy, while No. 7 Nuno Borges awaits Jakub Mensik.
(8) Alex Michelsen vs. (Q) Nishesh Basavareddy
It will be an all-American showdown in the ASB Classic quarterfinals when Michelsen and Basavareddy go head-to-head for the second time in their careers on Thursday afternoon. They just faced each other at last month’s NextGen ATP Finals, where Michelsen got the job done 2-4, 4-3(5), 4-3(4), 4-2.
Michelsen (20) is just one year older than Basavareddy (19) but has far more professional experience. The world No. 41 has won 44 matches on the main tour to his opponent’s two–both coming this week over lucky loser Francisco Comesana and defending champion Alejandro Tabilo. Michelsen has advanced with victories over Sumit Nagal and Lorenzo Sonego, displaying an extremely high level of tennis along the way. This should be a fun one–especially for American fans–but a clear edge goes to the eighth seed.
Pick: Michelsen in 2
Jakub Mensik vs. (7) Nuno Borges
Mensik has a chance to avenge his toughest loss of 2024. He went up against Borges in a surprising third-round matchup at the U.S. Open and succumbed 6-7(5), 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-0 after squandering three match points in the fourth-set tiebreaker, including two on his own serve.
The 19-year-old Czech should be able to do it, too. He ended last season in stellar form and is on fire to begin 2025, reaching the Brisbane quarterfinals (lost to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard) before ousting Pablo Carreno Busta and No. 1 seed Ben Shelton earlier this week in Auckland. Borges, who fell to Jaume Munar in the Hong Kong second round, earned his place in the last eight by beating clay-courters Luciano Darderi and Mariano Navone. The world No. 36 from Portugal is a tenacious counter-puncher, but this a match that will be entirely on Mensik’s racket.
Pick: Mensik in 3
WWW?
Agree.
Borges more of a clay courter .
decent on hard courts too, though
Borges is better than you think.