John Isner and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are one round away from what would be an intriguing semifinal showdown in Auckland. Standing in their respective paths on Thursday are Roberto Bautista Agut and Fabio Fognini.
(8) Roberto Bautista Agut vs. (3) John Isner
Isner and Bautista Agut will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers and for the second time at this ASB Classic when they clash during quarterfinal action on Thursday. Both of their previous encounters have gone Isner’s way. The 6’10” American prevailed 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-4 at the 2013 China Open before getting the job done 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-4 in the Auckland semis.
After beating Bautista Agut, Isner went on to capture his second Auckland title. The world No. 11 is an awesome 13-2 lifetime at this tournament following a 7-6(8), 6-7(4), 6-4 defeat of countryman and occasional doubles partner Sam Querrey on Wednesday. Bautista Agut has advanced with straight-set victories over Jiri Vesely and Donald Young. The 25th-ranked Spaniard is coming off a quarterfinal performance in Chennai, where he beat John Millman before falling to Borna Coric. Isner, who fired 31 aces past Querrey and served at 75 percent, will likely have too much power for Bautista Agut at what is arguably the No. 3 seed’s favorite tournament outside the United States.
Pick: Isner in 2
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(6) Fabio Fognini vs. (2) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Tsonga limped through an inauspicious offseason that saw him deal with yet another knee issue. But the 10th-ranked Frenchman got off to an encouraging start on Wednesday in the form of a 6-3, 6-4 win over Auckland stalwart Philipp Kohlschreiber. The German had been 24-8 lifetime at this event with nine trips to the quarterfinals in 10 previous appearances. Kohlschreiber put up little resistance against Tsonga, however, as the second seed served at 73 percent and never got broken.
Up next for the 2008 Australian Open runner-up is a fourth career meeting with Fognini. Tsonga is sweeping the head-to-head series 3-0 even though two of their encounters have come on clay, a surface that favors the Italian. The two veterans most recently squared off at the 2014 Monte-Carlo Masters, where Tsonga advanced to the quarterfinals with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 victory. Fognini, who did not win a hard-court match last year until the U.S. Open, has taken out Joao Sousa (in a third-set tiebreaker) and Thiemo De Bakker (6-1, 6-1) so far this week. Tsonga has to feel great about his second-round performance and he should blast the sixth off the court on this surface.
Pick: Tsonga in 2
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Same picks as yours: Tsonga in two and Isner in two
Yeah, impressed with Tsonga’s win over Kohlschreiber. Tsonga in 2. Fogna will maybe make one set somewhat tight.
Isner in 2. Don’t see it any other way.
My Tsonga tournament pick is germinating well so far.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKUOB8MN4Kc
Vamos Jo!!!
RBA looked good against Vesely, but Isner is an entirely different opponent. I think Isner will win in 2 sets.
Tsonga seems to be looking good now. I am going with the pick, Tsonga winning over Fog in 2 sets.
Surprise to see it, Nny. RBA took a set – and John may yet win, but he’s not at his best in this decider…
ratcliff,
This is when I get annoyed with myself. I thought RBA looked very sharp against Vesely. I don’t know that I would have necessarily picked him to beat Isner, but I did see that he was playing very well.
Oh well. That’s the way it goes.
yep. That’s the way it goes. I couldn’t imagine RBA winning – didn’t see Vesely match.
Fogna v Jo. Tie break 2nd set. lol, Fogna…and Jo – one minute it’s a hit and giggle the next spectacular shot-making. Typical Fognini antics. 😀
RBA = machine
Isner cost me a lot of money
bad loss by him
Not sure what happened to Isner, that was hard to watch. He looked really tired, both mentally and physically. Sock had a great match though, nice to see him win!
Isner wanted to get to Melbourne. Withdrew from doubles with Le Rosol.
More days rest, which is good for him. I didn’t see him playing the final and then trying to make a Slam the next day, that would not have been a good start. But I thought he wanted ranking points? i’m a little confused.