Estoril QF previews and predictions: Edmund vs. Sousa, Tiafoe vs. Bolelli

Two of the bigger forehands on tour will be on display when Kyle Edmund and Frances Tiafoe continue their Estoril campaigns during quarterfinal action on Friday. Edmund is going up against Joao Sousa, while Tiafoe is facing Simone Bolelli.

(3) Kyle Edmund vs. Joao Sousa

Edmund and Sousa will be squaring off for the third time in their careers when they clash in the quarterfinals of the Estoril Open on Friday. They have split their two previous encounters, with Edmund cruising 6-3, 6-4 on the red clay of Rome in 2017 before Sousa prevailed 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 a few months later on the hard courts of Cincinnati. Although Edmund hails from Great Britain and Sousa is Portuguese, it would not be unfair to say that the former is more adept on the slow stuff. The 23-year-old has always insisted that clay is his favorite surface, and he recently backed that up by reaching the final in Marrakech. Following a first-round bye this week, Edmund scored an impressive 6-2, 7-5 victory over Alex de Minaur on Tuesday.

Each of Sousa’s two career ATP titles has come on indoor hard courts, although he has at least managed to reach four finals on clay (plus three more on hard). The world No. 58 is 5-2 during this clay swing, with a semifinal showing in Marrakech, a first-round exit in Barcelona, and wins in Estoril over Daniil Medvedev and Pedro Sousa. Sousa may have home-court advantage, but Edmund is more rested and will have an easier time hitting through the surface thanks to his superior firepower.

Pick: Edmund in 3

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(Q) Simone Bolelli vs. Frances Tiafoe

For the first time since September of 2015, Bolelli finds himself in the quarterfinals of an ATP-level tournament. Aside from having gotten plenty of clay-court Challenger matches under his belt in 2018, this has come just about out of nowhere for the oft-injured Italian. Ranked No. 153 in the world, Bolelli qualified for the main draw this week and has since defeated Joao Domingues (6-3, 6-2) and Federico Delbonis (3-6, 7-5, 6-2).

Up next for the 32-year-old on Thursday is a first-ever meeting with Tiafoe, who is in the midst of a breakout 2018 campaign. The 20-year-old American has earned more than half of his career ATP-level match wins this season (13 of 22), a number that is highlighted by his first career title in Delray Beach. Tiafoe has maintained momentum in Estoril by taking out Houston runner-up Tennys Sandgren in a third-set tiebreaker (saved three match points) and fourth-seeded Gilles Muller in straight sets. Bolelli has not been to an ATP semifinal since February of 2013 and has been to only one since 2008. That drought will likely continue at the hands of a red-hot opponent.

Pick: Tiafoe in 2

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