Chennai QF previews and picks: Wawrinka vs. Garcia-Lopez, Bautista Agut vs. Coric

Familiar foes Stan Wawrinka and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez will meet again on Friday in Chennai. Roberto Bautista Agut and Borna Coric are also bidding for a spot in the semifinals.

(1) Stan Wawrinka vs.  (5) Guillermo Garcia-Lopez

Wawrinka and Garcia-Lopez will be squaring off for the 10th time in their careers at the ATP level when they clash in the quarterfinals of the Aircel Chennai Open on Friday. The head-to-head series stands at 6-3 in favor of Wawrinka, who is 3-0 against Garcia-Lopez on hard courts. Their most memorable and surprising showdown came at the 2014 French Open, where Garcia-Lopez knocked out the Swiss in the first round via a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 6-0 upset. Wawrinka has since avenged that loss on two occasions; he prevailed 7-6(2), 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(8) at last year’s Australian Open and 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2 on month later in Rotterdam.

Chennai is not exactly the setting in which one would choose to face Wawrinka, who is a three-time champion (2011, 2014, 2015) and owner of a 20-4 lifetime record. The top seed got off to a commanding start on Wednesday by hammering wild card Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-2. Garcia-Lopez has advanced with victories over Taro Daniel (4-6, 7-5, 6-2) and Ante Pavic (7-6(5), 6-1). The 27th-ranked Spaniard is coming off a season in which he compiled a solid 31-25 record. But this will be an especially tough test for Garcia-Lopez, as this is basically Wawrinka’s home away from home on the tennis circuit.

Pick: Wawrinka in 2

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(8) Borna Coric vs. (4) Roberto Bautista Agut

Bautista Agut and Coric will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers on Friday. They faced each other twice last season on clay, with Bautista Agut getting the job done on both occasions. He cruised 6-3, 6-3 in Umag and 6-3, 6-4 on Hamburg–both on clay. The 25th-ranked Spaniard is a former runner-up in Chennai (2013) and he reached the semifinals last year. Bautista Agut started in routine fashion on Wednesday, disposing of John Millman 6-4, 6-1.

Coric endured a scare in the first round but now finds himself in the quarterfinals of this season-opening event. After scraping past Marcel Granollers 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-4, the 19-year-old Croat made easier 6-2, 7-5 work of Austin Krajicek. Coric is up to No. 44 in the world, but he will be unseeded at the Australian Open even if he bags the Chennai title. The eighth seed is only getting better and better, so this should be more competitive than their 2015 tussles–but Bautista Agut will produce too much offensive weaponry in the end.

Pick: Bautista Agut in 3

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