Adelaide SF previews and predictions: Bublik vs. Draper, Korda vs. Lehecka

A pair of intriguing Adelaide semifinal matchups are on the schedule for Friday, including Alexander Bublik going up against Jack Draper. The bottom half features an all-seeded showdown between Sebastian Korda and Jiri Lehecka.

Jack Draper vs. (8) Alexander Bublik

Both Bublik and Draper are on their second lives heading into semifinal action at the Adelaide International on Friday. Draper needed an outrageous three hours and 40 minutes to outlast Miomir Kecmanovic 5-7, 7-6(9), 7-6(7) in the second round, saving two match points in the process. Bublik trailed Lorenzo Musetti 5-3 in the third set and fought off one match point during a come-from-behind 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-5 quarterfinal win on Thursday.

The result is a third meeting between the two players, who split their two previous encounters. Bublik prevailed 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 five years ago in Queen’s Club qualifying before Draper got the job done 7-6(5), 7-6(0) in the main draw of the same tournament two summers later. The 62nd-ranked Brit should once again have the edge here. He bounced back from his marathon against Kecmanovic to crush No. 1 seed Tommy Paul 6-1, 6-4, while Bublik at times looked mentally out of his quarterfinal contest against Musetti. It feels like the 31st-ranked Kazakh is ready to take his talents to Melbourne for the first Grand Slam of the year.

Pick: Draper in 2

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(3) Sebastian Korda vs. (7) Jiri Lehecka

Korda is looking to go one step farther in Adelaide after coming within one point of beating Novak Djokovic in the 2023 title match. The 29th-ranked American’s bid is going well so far, with victories over Lorenzo Sonego and Christopher O’Connell. Korda needs every win he can get, as he is defending runner-up points this week and quarterfinal points at the upcoming Australian Open.

Lehecka booked his place in the semis by beating Adam Walton, Dusan Lajovic, and second-seeded Nicolas Jarry, dropping just one set to Lajovic along the way. Like Korda, the 32nd-ranked Czech is quite comfortable Down Under; he also reached the Aussie Open quarters last year and recently took a set off Djokovic at the United Cup. There is more pressure on Korda, and if Lehecka keeps this close he is generally the better player in important, make-or-break points at the business end of matches.

Pick: Lehecka in 3

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