Roger Federer will continue his Cincinnati campaign on Saturday against a red-hot Milos Raonic. David Ferrer and Julien Benneteau are also bidding for a spot in the title match.
(5) Milos Raonic vs. (2) Roger Federer
Federer and Raonic will be going head-to-head for the sixth time in their careers and for the second time this summer when they clash in the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open on Saturday night. All five of their previous encounters have gone the way of Federer, who just dominated Raonic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the Wimbledon semis. The 33-year-old Swiss is 12-3 in total sets in this matchup and 8-0 in the last eight. He also cruised 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-2 at the 2013 Australian Open.
Raonic, though, has not looked back since his run at the All-England Club. The seventh-ranked Canadian triumphed in Washington, D.C., reached the Toronto quarters, and so far in Cincinnati he has defeated Robby Ginepri, Steve Johnson (in a third-set tiebreaker), and Fabio Fognini. Federer has advanced with victories over Vasek Pospisil, Gael Monfils, and Andy Murray. The five-time Cincinnati champion, a runner-up last week at the Rogers Cup, has additional momentum after storming back from two breaks down in the second set against Murray. This will not be easy, but Federer is always comfortable at this tournament and he has had little difficulty–relative to others–handling the Raonic serve.
Pick: Federer in 3
[polldaddy poll=8248997]
(6) David Ferrer vs. Julien Benneteau
Ferrer and Benneteau will be squaring off for the 10th time in their careers on Saturday. As Benneteau pointed out after his quarterfinal upset of Stan Wawrinka, he has an encouraging history against his more accomplished opponent. The Frenchman has won four of nine previous meetings with Ferrer and he leads the series 3-2 on hard courts. They most recently faced each other last fall in Valencia, where the Spaniard took care of business at home 6-2, 6-1.
Benneteau nearly got bounced out of this event right away, but he saved a match point in a 6-7(7), 6-3, 7-6(7) win over Blaz Rola. Before ousting Wawrinka, the world No. 41 also beat James Ward and Jerzy Janowicz. Ferrer also was one point away from losing his opener, only to survive Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 7-6(4) after fighting off two match points. The sixth seed followed that up with scalps of Mikhail Youzhny and Tommy Robredo. Ferrer, who also played well in Toronto, is 42-15 for the season. Benneteau has never performed well in the latter stages of tournaments (0-9 in ATP finals), so an in-form Ferrer is likely to handle this pressure-packed match in superior fashion.
Pick: Ferrer in 2
[polldaddy poll=8248998]
Leave a Reply