A blockbuster semifinal lineup is on the schedule for Friday in Doha, with world No. 1 Andy Murray and world No. 2 Novak Djokovic both in action. Murray is facing Tomas Berdych, while Djokovic is going up against Fernando Verdasco.
(1) Andy Murray vs. (3) Tomas Berdych
Murray and Berdych will be facing each other for the 17th time in their careers when they collide in the semifinals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open on Friday. The head-to-head series stands at 10-6 in favor of Murray, who has won six matches in a row at Berdych’s expense since losing a pair of 2013 encounters. They most recently met this past fall on the indoor hard courts of Paris, where the Scot prevailed 7-6(9), 7-5 to extend his sets streak against the Czech to 14.
Berdych’s Paris loss to Murray ended what was a relatively disappointing season that saw him miss the World Tour Finals and almost drop out of the top 10. The 31-year-old, though, is off to a strong start in 2017 with Doha victories over Alessandro Giannessi, Jiri Vesely, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Murray, who has won eight of his last 10 tournaments, is through to the last four following straight-set defeats of Jeremy Chardy, Gerald Melzer, and Nicolas Almagro. Nothing suggests that Berdych will suddenly turn back the clock to his more successful days against an opponent who is now No. 1 in the world.
Pick: Murray in 2
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Fernando Verdasco vs. (2) Novak Djokovic
Djokovic and Verdasco will be squaring off for the 13th time in their careers and for a second straight year in Doha when they meet again on Friday. They most recently clashed at this same event in 2016, when Djokovic dominated 6-2, 6-2 during second-round action. The second-ranked Serb leads the overall head-to-head series and has won three in a row at the Spaniard’s expense since losing a pair of contests in 2010. Djokovic is 5-1 against Verdasco on hard courts, including 5-0 since dropping their first-ever showdown at the 2005 U.S. Open.
This week’s No. 2 seed is looking to get back on track in 2017 after slumping–at least by his lofty standards–throughout the second half of last season. He is off to a strong start in Doha with straight-set victories over Jan-Lennard Struff, Horacio Zeballos, and Radek Stepanek. Verdasco also has not dropped a single set in defeats of Vasek Pospisil, David Goffin, and Ivo Karlovic. The 42nd-ranked Spaniard is extremely dangerous when he is confident, but Djokovic’s defense will likely once again force Verdasco to hit too many shots for his liking.
Pick: Djokovic in 2 losing 8-10 games
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