Jack Sock and Steve Johnson have already battled fellow Americans this week in Auckland and now they will face each other with a spot in the final on the line. Friday’s schedule also features Marcos Baghdatis and Joao Sousa.
(4) Jack Sock vs. (7) Steve Johnson
Sock and Johnson will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers at the ATP level when they meet in the semifinals of the ASB Classic on Friday. The head-to-head series stands at 2-1 in favor of Sock, but Johnson took their most recent encounter 7-6(5), 6-1 two seasons ago on the hard courts of Washington, D.C. Sock had previously prevailed at the 2012 Atlanta event and at Roland Garros in 2014.
Nobody has played as much tennis as Sock in advance of the Australian Open, although four of his singles matches were of the unofficial variety. The 23rd-ranked American went 3-1 at last week’s Hopman Cup while leading the United States to a runner-up showing. So far in Auckland he has taken out Ryan Harrison and Jeremy Chardy in three sets. Johnson has advanced to the semis with victories over Stephane Robert, Yen-Hsun, Lu, and John Isner. After disposing of Robert and Lu in straights, the world No. 33 edged Isner in a somewhat predictable third-set tiebreaker on Thursday afternoon. These two countrymen boast some of the heaviest forehands in the game, but Sock owns a far superior backhand and he has a ton of confidence based on how his first two weeks of 2017 have progressed.
Pick: Sock in 2
[polldaddy poll=9634639]
Joao Sousa vs. (8) Marcos Baghdatis
Baghdatis retired from his opening match last week in Doha against Radek Stepanek, but his fortunes have turned around in a hurry at the ASB Classic. The 36th-ranked Cypriot is through to the last four thanks to defeats of Adrian Mannarino, Dustin Brown, and Jiri Vesely. Only Brown managed to snag a set, while Mannarino and Vesely did not even make any set more competitive than 6-4.
Up next for Baghdatis on Friday is a first-ever meeting with Sousa. Portugal’s top player, who registers at 44th in the rankings, is coming off straight-set victories over Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Brydan Klein, and Robin Haase. Although Sousa is playing well, he has obviously benefited from a favorable draw that was vacated by David Ferrer (lost his opener to Haase). In what should be an entertaining baseline battle, Baghdatis’ stellar ball-striking and ability to win at least a few free points on serve will likely make the difference.
Pick: Baghdatis in 3
[polldaddy poll=9634353]
who ya got?
Ricky, the first poll shows Isner and Johnson as the choices?? (Well, I could go with “the American” and be super safe, but….)
Anyway, Sock and Sousa in 3.
oops, I will fix it!
Baghdatis played inspired tennis last night … he looked to have a game plan for each of his matches so far and rather than implementing a constant strategy worked in intelligent set plays at all the right moments … I took Vesely last night but am giving up and getting on the Baghdatis bandwagon … a lot of favorites losing last night … my only concern with Sock and Johnson is that the higher seeds are using this as a warmup for the AO and Sock will only be going halfspeed
Johnson in three and Baghdatis in three
Both matches could be great fun…I like Johnson in 3 and Sousa in 3….will tivo on TC.