French veteran Richard Gasquet and Belgian David Goffin will battle in the Cincinnati semifinals for a spot in Sunday’s final. The winner will go up against either world No. 1 Novak Djokovic or a red-hot Daniil Medvedev.
If there is a surprise this week, besides the early exit of Roger Federer at the hands of qualifier Andrey Rublev, it’s Richard Gasquet. The Frenchman looks much more like the dangerous player of a decade ago than he does a player ranked 56th in the world. His backhand, a potentially vicious shot previously capable of doing much damage, is back. In a big way. He started out against Andy Murray, who is back from the hip surgery that could have ended his career. Gasquet was favored to win that match and the next one against Federico Delbonis, but from there it has been upset wins for the veteran.
He took out the crafty Argentine Diego Schwartzman–ranked No. 24 in the world–in the third round. Schwartzman won the hard-court event in Los Cabos just a couple of weeks ago, but he went down to Gasquet in surprising straight sets. But then, in an even bigger surprise, Gasquet dispatched Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarters on Friday via 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-2 decision.
David Goffin tore it up during this year’s grass season, with a trip to the finals in Halle and the quarters at Wimbledon. But the Belgian has been quiet during the North American hard-court swing. He had not, in fact won a match since Wimbledon coming into this week. That he made his way through the wide open bottom half of the draw is cleverly opportunistic. He took out Taylor Fritz, Guido Pella, and Adrian Mannarino en route to the quarters. Quarterfinal opponent Yoshihito Nishioka withdrew prior to their match with an illness.
Although Goffin is ranked much higher than Gasquet at No. 19 in the world, the Frenchman has displayed far more impressive form this week. Historically, Gasquet has had difficulty dealing with pressure situations, but he managed his match against Bautista Agut and he generally seems to be dialed in right now. Provided that he can continue to rely on his backhand as he has all week, Gasquet may well find himself a surprise Masters finalist.
Cheryl pick: Gasquet in 3
Ricky pick: Goffin in 2
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Its not such a surprise, if you saw him beat Nishikori last week serving so well.
I hope Nishi is OK for the US Open
I hope Gasquet wins this match. He’s playing inspired tennis at the moment, though none of them would beat Djoko (most probably) in the final. Gasquet plays better than Goffin here imo, so hopefully if he reaches the final, it’ll be a bit more competitive a final.
WWW?
Based on preliminary analysis…below are my temporary predictions.
Cinncinati Masters SF Saturday
Djokovic over Medvedev in 3 Not happening in 2 sets as 3 of their 4 matches have been tight going to the 3rd set or beyond. With Medvedev having the experience of beating Djokovic in 3 sets in Monte Carlo and hanging with the Joker in all matches couple with his sizzling form this summer, he will take the Joker to 3 sets and won’t be surprised if he pulls out with a win also with his powerful serves and double handed backhands especially in a tiebreaker with the Joker having elbow issues (who may not be accurate & powerful in the later stages of the match…if his elbow issues persist).
Another key deciding factor in this match is, How will Medvedev’s body hold up in the 3rd set and withstand the tiredness of playing 14 matches in 17 days??? Djokovic, who is an intelligent game planner will make this match as physical as possible to further tire out a tired Medvedev. Even if this match ends in 2 sets it will be tight and the over 22.5 will be a big winner. Djokovic’s mild powered cat & mouse baseline game suits Medvedev’s power game style unlike Nadal’s heavy topspin & tricky lefty shot making style…which the Joker does not play…luckily for Medvedev…making this a close 3 set match mostly!lol
Gasquet over Goffin in 3
If Goffin cannot handle the shorty Nishioka, then he won’t be able to handle the new version of the all powerful aggressive serve & volley game of Gasquet!
Gasquet with his new found confidence after his groin surgery (Hope he hasn’t got his groin injected with Industrial grade testosterone etc.!lol Can’t explain the new found energy of this new 2.0 version of Gasquet!) is putting to good use all of his deadly weapons…just like he did in the 3rd set and demolished RBA. Gasquet’s aggressive net play and ability to hit the ball for winners in any corner of the opponent’s court from any corner of his court will be too much for Goffin to handle. Gasquet simply has more weapons which he is unabashedly unleashing on his opponents with his super aggressive game…will take him to the Cincinnati Masters finals…where he will give a tough fight to either Medvedev or Djokovic in the finals. Gasquet has also got the psychological advantage of beating Goffin in 3 in their latest H2H match in 2018 and will try to replicate the same today. Goffin’s 1 day rest (or even a weeks rest) will not affect the result (Gasquet’s win)! Like the over 22.5 to win here also. Like Gasquet +3 to win easily.
ATP experts…correct the above preliminary analysis if needed with your expert analysis and predictions!
I love how good Gasquet has been playing this week. I though Nishioka had a good chance against Goffin, and now I think the same for the french. I hope he is not tired and make this opportunity count. I’ll go with Gasquet in 3.
Great win for Goffin! His first Master’s Final. 😀 Go Goffin!
Gasquet is playing very well though, he just ran out of gas it seems!