Stefanos Tsitsipas will take on Daniil Medvedev in a battle of the NextGens during quarterfinal action on Friday in Basel. Meanwhile Swiss Maestro Roger Federer looks to continue his mastery at this tournament against Gilles Simon.
(1) Roger Federer vs. Gilles Simon
Roger Federer has proven to be a difficult matchup for Gilles Simon–like he has for almost everyone on tour. The Frenchman managed to beat Federer twice, but they were the first two times the men met back in 2008. Since then, it’s been all Federer, with the Swiss reeling off six consecutive victories–the most recent coming in 2015.
Simon began the 2018 season ranked 89th in the world and he now sits at No. 32, but he’s still well off his career-high ranking of No. 6 from back in 2009. With Federer motivated by the home crowd, it’s doubtful Simon will have enough to upset the eight-time champion.
Cheryl pick: Federer in 2
Ricky pick: Federer in 2
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(4) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. (7) Daniil Medvedev
Stockholm champion Stefanos Tsitsipas will take on Russian Daniil Medvedev in the most intriguing of the quarterfinal matches in Basel. Both NextGen stars are having the year of their young careers. Medvedev snagged three titles this season, including Tokyo a few weeks ago and he sits at a career high No. 20.
Tsitsipas is ranked a bit higher than Medvedev at No. 16, but the Greek secured his first title last week in Stockholm and Fatigue is likely to be at last a small factor in Friday’s match.
Additionally, Tsitsipas hasn’t yet been successful against Medvedev. The two men have faced each other twice in 2018 so far; Medvedev won both matches, most recently in the U.S. Open second round. They haven’t met often enough to determine that Tsitsipas has a matchup issue with Medvedev, but since both men are generally in good form, Medvedev has the edge.
Cheryl pick: Medvedev in 3
Ricky pick: Medvedev in 3
[polldaddy poll=10147454]
Fed & Tsitsi in 3
Same
Fed looked a lot better but not convinced he would beat Tsitsipas or Medvedev