Antalya SF previews and predictions: Mannarino vs. Monfils, Dzumhur vs. Vesely

It will be an all-French affair when Adrian Mannarino and Gael Monfils meet again on grass in the Antalya semifinals on Friday. Damir Dzumhur and Jiri Vesely are also bidding for a spot in the title match.

(1) Adrian Mannarino vs. (4) Gael Monfils

Mannarino and Monfils will be facing each other for the third time in their careers and for the third time on grass when they clash in the semifinals of the Turkish Airlines Open on Friday. Both of their previous encounters have come at Wimbledon, where Monfils cruised 7-6(5), 6-3, 7-5 in 2015 before Mannarino survived a 7-6(3), 4-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 thriller last summer. The essence of a grass-court lover, Mannarino is two-time fourth-round finisher at the All-England Club and he has never advanced that far at any other major. The 24th-ranked Frenchman, who finished runner-up last year in Antalya, is through to the final four following straight-set victories over Ricardas Berankis and Joao Sousa.

Going into this week, Monfils was just 11-11 in his last 22 matches since storming out of the 2018 gates with a title in Doha. But the world No. 41, who will be unseeded at Wimbledon, has done well to pick up a pair of wins at his first grass-court tournament of the year. Monfils battled past Blaz Kavcic 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 on Wednesday before beating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-6(3), 6-4 in the quarters. Based on both current form and the surface, though, Mannarino should be too crafty and too mentally tough for his compatriot.

Pick: Mannarino in 2

[polldaddy poll=10042931]

Jiri Vesely vs. (2) Damir Dzumhur

Dzumhur and Vesely will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers and for the second time at the ATP level. All three of their previous meetings have gone the way of Dzumhur, who has prevailed once on clay (at a Slovakian Challenger in 2012) and twice on indoor hard courts (at the 2013 Bratislava Challenger and at the 2016 ATP event in Sofia). Grass, however, may give Vesely a better chance. The 24-year-old Czech wields a big serve and an effective backhand slice that often works well for him on grass. He reached the Wimbledon fourth round in 2016 and so far this week he has disposed of Jordan Thompson, Fernando Verdasco, and Nikoloz Basilashvili in straight sets.

In Antalya alone, Dzumhur can double his previous career grass-court win total–three to six–if he gets the job done on Friday. The world No. 30 from Bosnia and Herzegovina followed up an opening bye as the second seed with victories over Marius Copil (4-6, 6-4, 6-4) and Pierre-Hugues Herbert (6-4, 6-1). Dzumhur is in fine form at the moment, but Vesely is confident on this surface and should be able to minimize baseline rallies if he produces an impressive serving display.

Pick: Vesely in 3

[polldaddy poll=10042932]