Only two seeds remain in Bucharest, where No. 1 Sebastian Baez and No. 3 Flavio Cobolli are on a collision course for the final. Standing in their way on Saturday are Marton Fucsovics and Damir Dzumhur, respectively.
(1) Sebastian Baez vs. Marton Fucsovics
Baez can probably be defined as the best ATP 250 clay-courter in the world. Not including guys who generally don’t play 250s (the top-ranked players plus accomplished clay-courters like Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas), Baez is the cream of the crop. The 36th-ranked Argentine successfully defended his Rio de Janeiro title in February and he finished runner-up in Santiago. Baez now finds himself in another semifinal at the Tiriac Open, having defeated Gabriel Diallo and Francisco Comesana earlier in the week.
Up next for the top seed on Saturday is a second meeting with Fucsovics, who lost their only previous encounter 6-4, 7-6(5) on the red clay of Lyon in 2023. Fucsovics is the defending champion in Bucharest and this is his first ATP semifinal appearances since that triumph 12 months ago. In fact, he had not even reached quarterfinal before beating Luca Nardi, Mariano Navone, and Christopher O’Connell earlier this week. The 90th-ranked Hungarian has suddenly regained some form, but Baez is simply at a different level on clay.
Pick: Baez in 2
(3) Flavio Cobolli vs. Damir Dzumhur
Cobolli and Dzumhur will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers and for the first time at the ATP level on Saturday. They have faced each other three times on the Challenger circuit, with Dzumhur having won two of three previous contests. It is 1-1 on clay after Cobolli prevailed 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 at the 2023 Zadar Challenger and Dzumhur got the job done 7-5, 6-4 in the 2024 Sibiu Challenger semifinals.
It has been a tale of two different seasons for these two players. Dzumhur has quietly worked his way back up to 65th in the rankings thanks to a whole host of success on the Challenger circuit. Now he is into an ATP semifinal following victories over Valentin Vacherot, Filip Cristian Jianu, and Pedro Martinez. Cobolli was a horrendous 2-8 on the main tour for his 2025 campaign prior to beating Richard Gasquet and Filip Misolic. The 45th-ranked Italian has to do a lot more than beat Gasquet and Misolic to prove that he is back on track, plus he has to face an extremely confident opponent who has always been great on clay.
Pick: Dzumhur in 3
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Baez in 2; Zoom in 2