Adelaide QF previews and predictions: Paul vs. Draper, Musetti vs. Bublik

Jack Draper will be back on the court following a marathon second-round win when he faces top seed Tommy Paul in the Adelaide quarterfinals on Thursday. Lorenzo Musetti is going up against Alexander Bublik.

(1) Tommy Paul vs. Jack Draper

Paul and Draper will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers and for the second time at the Adelaide International when they meet again on Thursday, this time in the quarterfinals. In the second round last year Draper scored a 6-4, 6-4 victory, but there is reason to think that things will be different now. The 62nd-ranked Brit played for three hours and 40 minutes on Wednesday, defeating Miomir Kecmanovic 5-7, 7-6(9), 7-6(7). Draper’s physical state has rarely been ideal to begin with, so it’s hard to see him being 100 percent just 24 hours later.

Meanwhile, Paul got a first-round bye as the No. 1 seed and then eased past Alex Bolt 6-3, 6-2. The 26-year-old American is coming off an outstanding 2023 campaign that has him up to 14th in the rankings. Included in his 2023 results was a semifinal run at the Australian Open, so he is obviously comfortable Down Under. Count on Paul taking advantage of a fatigued opponent.

Pick: Paul in 2

(4) Lorenzo Musetti vs. (8) Alexander Bublik

Musetti and Bublik will also be squaring off for the second time in their careers on Thursday. They faced each other two years ago on the grass courts of Queen’s Club, where Bublik won the first set and then got a retirement from his opponent. A hard court should give Musetti a much better chance than grass, and the 25th-ranked Italian certainly looked good during a 6-4, 6-1 beatdown of Jordan Thompson in round two.

Bublik has advanced with victories over James McCabe and Dan Evans. McCabe is a little-known Aussie who got a lucky-loser spot in the main draw, while Evans is rusty–having not played since sustaining a calf injury last fall in Vienna. Bublik is dangerous, but he is wildly up and down and his motivation level could be a question mark with a Grand Slam coming up next week. This is a good opportunity for Musetti to pull off a minor upset.

Pick: Musetti in 3