Eastbourne SF previews and predictions: Fritz vs. Davidovich Fokina, Humbert vs. Brooksby

Taylor Fritz is up to his usual tricks in Eastbourne and he will try to keep it going against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the semifinals on Friday. Ugo Humbert and Jenson Brooksby are also bidding for a place in the title match.

(1) Taylor Fritz vs. (6) Alejandro Davidovich Fokina

Fritz is without question the king of the Eastbourne Open. The world No. 5 has lifted the trophy three times, all in his last five trips to this tournament. Fritz is two victories away from capturing a fourth title following defeats of Joao Fonseca and Marcos Giron. The top seed won both matches 7-5 in the third set on Wednesday, finishing off a darkness-delayed battled with Fonseca before beating Giron in two hours and 24 minutes.

Davidovich Fokina is playing his first event since Roland Garros and his first since getting married less than two weeks ago. Expectations could not have been especially high this week given his time off, but the 28th-ranked Spaniard has looked good in wins over ChunHsin Tseng, James Duckworth, and Jakub Mensik. Unfortunately for Davidovich Fokina, Fritz is the superior grass-court player and it’s pretty much impossible to pick against the American at this particular tournament.

Pick: Fritz in 2

(4) Ugo Humbert vs. (LL) Jenson Brooksby

Brooksby appeared to be out of Eastbourne when he lost to Aleksandar Vukic in the final round of qualifying. However, the 24-year-old American found himself in the main draw thanks to Alexander Bublik’s predictable withdrawal and he has parlayed that good fortune into victories over Francisco Comesana, Nuno Borges, and Dan Evans–all in straight sets. Brooksby is now 12-8 all time on grass, so he knows what he’s doing on this surface.

Up next for the world No. 149 on Friday is a second meeting with Humbert, who prevailed 6-1, 6-4 on the indoor hard courts of Basel in 2022. The 20th-ranked Frenchman absolutely loves fast, low-bouncing conditions, so it’s no surprise to see him thriving on grass. A former Halle champion, Humbert is into his second grass-court semifinal of the summer following straight-set defeats of Lorenzo Sonego and Billy Harris. Brooksby is no easy out on any surface, but Humbert’s serve and backhand should be the two best shots in this matchup–shots that should carry him through to the championship match.

Pick: Humbert in 3