Richard Gasquet will be bidding for his third Montpellier title when he takes the court on Sunday against Jerzy Janowicz. Meanwhile, the Zagreb final will feature fellow veterans Andreas Seppi and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
Open Sud de France: (3) Richard Gasquet vs. (5) Jerzy Janowicz
Montpellier is undoubtedly one of Gasquet’s best tournaments and he will be aiming for his third title on Sunday. The 28th-ranked Frenchman is 19-6 lifetime at the event, having lifted the trophy in both 2006 and 2013. A runner-up last season, Gasquet avenged that loss to Gael Monfils by beating his compatriot 6-4, 6-3 in Saturday’s semis. He preceded that win by getting the best of Lucas Pouille and Denis Istomin, also in straight sets. Gasquet has won multiple matches at all three of his events in 2015.
In similarly solid form, Janowicz advanced one round in Sydney, two rounds at the Australian Open, and now he is through to a title match. The 44th-ranked Pole earned a place in his third career final by defeating Dustin Brown, Benoit Paire, Gilles Simon, and Joao Sousa. Only his clash with Simon lasted two sets and he even needed six match-point saves to get past Brown. Almost out in the first round, Janowicz has made the most of new life. The No. 5 seed may not be so lucky against an opponent who has home-court advantage and playing like there is no place he would rather perform.
Pick: Gasquet in 3
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PBZ Zagreb Indoors: (5) Guillermo Garcia-Lopez vs. (4) Andreas Seppi
Garcia-Lopez and Seppi will be going head-to-head for the sixth time in their careers when they battle for the Zagreb title on Sunday. Seppi has won all four of their previous encounters and is 12-1 in total sets at the expense of Garcia-Lopez. The Italian is four for four at the ATP main-draw level after most recently prevailing 7-5, 6-3 three years ago in Doha. Seppi is 3-0 versus the Spaniard on hard courts and 2-0 on clay, but they have never faced each other indoors.
Both veterans are in outstanding form to begin the 2015 campaign, already positioning themselves for seeding in Indian Wells, Miami, and ultimately at the French Open. Garcia-Lopez reached the Chennai quarterfinals, made a fourth-round run in Melbourne, and so far this week has taken out Damir Dzumhur, Viktor Troicki, and Marcos Baghdatis. Seppi matched Garcia-Lopez’s Australian Open result by upsetting Roger Federer and he is back in business in Zagreb with victories over Robin Haase, James Ward, Ricardas Berankis, and Marcel Granollers. Ranked eight spots behind his opponent at 41st in the world, Seppi won his first three matches of the event in three sets. That tenacity in close contests should see him through to yet another scalp of Garcia-Lopez.
Pick: Seppi in 3
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