Marin Cilic and Andy Murray are set for a blockbuster showdown on Friday in Beijing as they bid for a spot in the last four. Another all-seeded quarterfinal pits Tomas Berdych against John Isner.
(4) Marin Cilic vs. (6) Andy Murray
Cilic and Murray will be facing each other for the 12th time in their careers when they do battle in the quarterfinals of the China Open on Friday. Murray is dominating the head-to-head series 9-2, but it stands at a more modest 5-2 on hard courts and Cilic rolled through their most recent clash 6-3, 6-4 early this season on the indoor hard courts of Rotterdam.
Although he is still not in peak form, Murray was just returning from back surgery in Rotterdam and he now has plenty of match play under his belt. The 11th-ranked Scot is coming off a title in Shenzhen and so far this week he has taken out Jerzy Janowicz and Pablo Cuevas. Cilic, of course, captured the U.S. Open title last month and he is showing no signs of letting up. The ninth-ranked Croat did not come close to surrendering a set in early-round wins over Yan Bai and Joao Sousa. Eventually Murray’s difficult recent matches are going to catch up with him and that might happen against Cilic, a powerful opponent who can keep the sixth seed on the defensive early and often.
Pick: Cilic in 3
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(8) John Isner vs. (3) Tomas Berdych
Nobody has handled the Isner serve quite like Berdych as the two Beijing doubles partners head into their eighth career meeting on Friday. Not even Philipp Kohlschreiber, who has defeated Isner in three straight U.S. Open third rounds, has been as effective as Berdych against Isner’s booming deliveries. In seven previous encounters between the two big hitters (five won by Berdych), there have been a whopping 32 service breaks–24 of those going to Berdych. The sixth-ranked Czech has won three in a row against Isner after scoring a dominant 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory at this year’s French Open. Berdych has taken seven straight sets in the series and not one of those seven has progressed to a tiebreaker.
Both men are looking good so far this week. Berdych struggled this summer but he eased past Feliciano Lopez 6-1, 6-2 in the first round and Viktor Troicki 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday. Isner thrashed Santiago Giraldo 6-1, 6-3 before saving a match point against an in-form Tommy Robredo in a 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(4) win on Wednesday. The 6’10” American is not playing poorly, but a matchup with this opponent outside the United States is not a good recipe for success.
Pick: Berdych in 2
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Dimitrov folding like the cheap suit he is……