Both David Ferrer and Philipp Kohlschreiber will head into the Australian Open with plenty of momentum–but one will have more than the other. They are colliding in the Auckland final on Saturday afternoon.
A Heineken Open final matchup between David Ferrer and Philipp Kohlschreiber hardly comes as a surprise.
Ferrer is 20-5 lifetime at the tournament, is the two-time defending champion, and has won it a total of three times. Kohlschreiber is 19-6 lifetime in Auckland. In eight appearances he has lost prior to the quarterfinals only once and he captured the title in 2008.
Their most recent head-to-head meeting came at this same event in 2011, when Ferrer won a quarterfinal showdown 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3. They were also supposed to face each other in the 2009 quarterfinals, but Ferrer got a walkover. Overall, the Spaniard has won six of nine meetings with Kohlschreiber, including a 4-2 record on hard courts.
Ferrer opened his week with a tough three-set victory over Yen-Hsun Lu, but he lost a total of just six games to Lukas Lacko and Gael Monfils (although the Frenchman was not at 100 percent). Kohlschreiber has taken out Alejandro Falla, Xavier Malisse, and Sam Querrey–losing only one set to Falla in the process.
Highlights of Kolschreiber’s quarterfinal win over Malisse:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdSWF2dw1dU]
Based on current form and a relatively respectable past history against Ferrer, the second-seeded German should have a chance in this one. At the same time, however, Ferrer’s scary 2012 form has appeared to carry over to 2013. He is a daunting opponent for anyone–especially anyone outside the Big 4.
Odds: Ferrer -500, Kohlschreiber +350
Pick: Ferrer 6-4, 6-4
I’m going with Kohli in this one. I’ve picked him to do well at the Australian Open and I think he needs to win this if he’s to make 4th round there. Where I think he’d probably meet Fed from what I saw.