Chengdu QF previews and predictions: Dimitrov vs. Schwartzman, Troicki vs. Anderson

(3) Grigor Dimitrov vs. Diego Schwartzman

It will be a rematch of one of the more memorable contests on the ATP Tour this season when Dimitrov and Schwartzman meet again on Friday. Their only previous showdown came a few months ago in the final of a clay-court tournament in Istanbul, where Schwartzman triumphed 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 6-0. It was Dimitrov, however, who stole the show for all the wrong reasons. In the aftermath of blowing a set lead and a 5-2 edge in the second, the Bulgarian had already incurred one warning for breaking rackets. He smashed another just before Schwartzman’s match point at 5-0 in the third, thus bringing the final to a sudden end with a point penalty.

Dimitrov collapsed thereafter, as he took a six-match losing streak into Wimbledon before finally getting back into the win column. The world No. 21 has since regained momentum with a quarterfinal finish in Toronto, a semifinal showing in Cincinnati, and a fourth-round performance at the U.S. Open. He booked his spot in the Chengdu quarterfinals by beating Dusan Lajovic 7-6(1), 6-4 on Wednesday. Schwartzman has advanced with straight-set victories over Rajeev Ram and Paolo Lorenzi. The 70th-ranked Argentine had been just 2-6 in his last eight ATP main-draw matches dating back to the French Open, but he also captured a clay-court Challenger title in between the U.S. Open and St. Petersburg. Now that Dimitrov is the one going in the right direction, he should be able to avenge his Istanbul loss.

Pick: Dimitrov in 2

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(6) Viktor Troicki vs. Kevin Anderson

Mostly because of arm problems, Anderson won just a single match this season prior to May. But he has finally picked up momentum in time for the stretch run of the 2016 campaign. The South African’s American hard-court summer included a quarterfinal showing in Toronto and third-round performances at the Cincinnati Masters and U.S. Open. So far in Chengdu he has taken out Jordan Thompson (6-2, 6-4) and No. 2 seed Nick Kyrgios (3-6, 7-6(6), 6-2).

Up next for Anderson on Friday is a quarterfinal date with Troicki, who trails the head-to-head series 2-1 (all on outdoor hard courts). They most recently faced each other this summer at the Rogers Cup, where Anderson got the job done 7-6(4), 6-3. Troicki has advanced in Chengdu with a 6-3, 7-6(4) victory over 17-year-old wild card Casper Ruud and a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 defeat of Marcos Baghdatis. The 32nd-ranked Serb, who also reached the quarters last week in St. Petersburg, is 28-23 for the year. But this is a tough test against an in-form Anderson, who fired 24 aces past Kyrgios on Thursday.

Pick: Anderson in 2

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