It will be an all-seeded affair in the Bastad semifinals when Fabio Fognini and Fernando Verdasco square off on Saturday. Richard Gasquet, meanwhile, will battle lucky loser Henri Laaksonen for a place in the title match.
(3) Fabio Fognini vs. (5) Fernando Verdasco
Fognini and Verdasco will be facing each other for the seventh time in their careers and for the second time this season when they meet again during semifinal action at the SkiStar Swedish Open on Saturday. Verdasco leads the head-to-head series 4-2 after prevailing 6-1, 7-5 five months ago on the red clay of Rio de Janeiro. He remains a perfect 3-0 lifetime at Fognini’s expense on the slow stuff, including 6-1 in total sets.
This week has delivered some much-needed success for Verdasco, who reached the fourth round of the French Open before compiling a 1-4 record in his next five matches through Wimbledon. The 33rd-ranked Spaniard has advanced in Bastad with victories over Lorenzo Sonego, Pedro Sousa, and second-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta while winning five consecutive sets without surrendering more than four games in any of those sets. Fognini is quietly putting together a stellar season, with consistent results the entire way but nothing spectacular (although he did capture one 250-point title in Sao Paulo). The 15th-ranked Italian is now 29-14 in 2018 following defeats of Mikael Ymer and Federico Delbonis. With Verdasco having gotten things back together in Bastad, he should be able to improve to 4-0 against Fognini on clay.
Pick: Verdasco in 3
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(LL) Henri Laaksonen vs. (4) Richard Gasquet
Laaksonen fell in the final round of qualifying, but things have worked out just about perfectly since that setback. In fact, the 148th-ranked Swiss has been about as fortunate as one can get; not only did he snag a lucky-loser spot in the main draw, but he also faced no one inside the top 70 en route to the semifinals. Laaksonen avenged his qualifying loss to Juan Ignacio Londero in the opening round, beat Matteo Berrettini 6-2, 6-2 in the last 16, and ousted Simone Bolelli 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 on Friday.
Up next for the 26-year-old is a first-ever encounter with Gasquet, who punched his ticket to the semis by defeating Gerald Melzer and Casper Ruud. The 29th-ranked Frenchman has been up and down of late, as a grass-court title in ‘s-Hertogenbosch was preceded by immediate losses in Halle (to Florian Mayer) and at Wimbledon (to Gael Monfils). Even though Gasquet may not be in absolute peak form at the moment, he still represents a massive step up in competition level for Laaksonen.
Pick: Gasquet in 2
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WYG?
Verdasco and Reeshard.