David Ferrer has avoided the upset bug in Hamburg and will square off against Leonardo Mayer on Sunday. The title match in Bogota, meanwhile, is set to feature Ivo Karlovic and Bernard Tomic.
Hamburg: (1) David Ferrer vs. Leonardo Mayer
Ferrer and Mayer will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they battle for the bet-at-home Open title on Sunday afternoon. Their only previous encounter came two years ago on the grass courts of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, where Ferrer dominated 6-3, 6-1. The 32-year-old Spaniard may be slowing down just a bit this season, but he is still in solid form. His 2014 record stands at 37-13 following Hamburg victories over Mikhail Kukushkin, Andreas Seppi, Pablo Andujar, and Alexander Zverev. Ferrer needed three sets to beat both Kukushkin and Seppi, but he lost a grand total of three games against Andujar and Zverev.
Mayer has not dropped a single set this week while taking out Peter Gojowyczk, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Dominic Thiem, Dusan Lajovic, and Philipp Kohlschreiber. The in-form Argentine also reached the third round of the French Open and the fourth round at Wimbledon. He is 21-12 for the season and will break into the top 30 when the next rankings are released. Mayer is contesting just his second career ATP final, having finished runner-up on the clay courts of Vina del Mar earlier this year. Ferrer, on the other hand, is bidding for his 22nd title in his 44th final. Count on this one being extremely competitive, but experience should win out in the end.
Pick: Ferrer in 3
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Bogota: (WC) Bernard Tomic vs. (2) Ivo Karlovic
Tomic and Karlovic will be facing each other for the third time in their careers when they collide in the final of the Claro Open Colombia on Sunday. Both of their previous encounters came last fall on hard courts and both went Tomic’s way–via third-set retirement (with Tomic leading by a break) in Bangkok and by a 7-6(6), 7-6(3) scoreline in Paris. Karlovic, though, is playing some of the best and most consistent tennis of his career at 35 years old. The 6’11” Croat finished runner-up in Dusseldorf, upset Grigor Dimitrov at Roland Garros, and he is coming off a final last week in Newport. Karlovic booked his spot in this title match by taking out Dudi Sela, Jimmy Wang, and Radek Stepanek.
The situation is a much different one for Tomic, who is just now rounding back into form. The 21-year-old Australian had no notable performances since undergoing a hip procedure at the end of the Australian Open…until now. Tomic rolled over Farrukh Dustov, Alejandro Falla, and Vasek Pospisil before winning an emotional 7-6(2), 6-7(5), 7-6(5) thriller over Victor Estrella Burgos on Saturday. The world No. 124 needed two hours and 46 minutes to advance, so he could be feeling the effects. A tussle with Karlovic will not be a physical encounter, but the extended battle with Estrella Burgos still won’t help. Having dropped two finals of late, the in-form Karlovic is due for the third time to be the charm.
Pick: Karlovic in 3
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Wow, Mayer………………
Exactly. Where has he been hiding all this time?
Wow. Mayer wins the 3rd set tiebreak. Gotta say, I didn’t think he’d beat Daveed.
The amazed joy of Mayer was a delight to behold. Talk about a late flowering – 27 is long in the tooth to have your break out year!. Hope he will build on this success. However it was painful to watch Ferru’s distress at losing this final. Time is running out for him.
Mayer has upped his game a lot. He seems to believe in himself and goes for his shots.
I streamed and watched a bit of the match in the 1st set, Mayer was absolutely stunning and as @nadline10 says, going for his shots. He was beautiful to watch. I hope he keeps it up because he really was beautiful to watch. A baseliner constructing his shots and then striking: beautiful!