Two of the top three seeds have advanced to the Shenzhen final, leaving Tomas Berdych to go up against Richard Gasquet on Sunday. A much more surprising Chengdu title match will feature Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Karen Khachanov.
Shenzhen Open: (1) Tomas Berdych vs. (3) Richard Gasquet
Berdych and Gasquet will be squaring off for the the 15th time in their careers when they battle for the Shenzhen title on Sunday. The head-to-head series is all tied up at seven wins apiece, including 5-5 on hard courts. Berdych, though, has taken four of their last five encounters dating back to the 2014 Shanghai Masters. They most recently faced each other earlier this season in Miami, where the ninth-ranked Czech advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 victory.
Although he missed the U.S. Open due to appendicitis, Berdych is back in fine form for the fall swing. This week’s top seed recently turned in a semifinal performance in St. Petersburg (lost to Alexander Zverev) and so far in Shenzhen he has defeated Mikhail Kukushkin, Jiri Vesely, and Thomaz Bellucci. Gasquet punched his ticket to the final with wins over Andrew Whittington, Mischa Zverev, and Janko Tipsarevic (via second-set retirement). The 18th-ranked Frenchman has not yet surrendered a set and while the competition level will increase on Sunday, Gasquet appears to have a slight edge in current form.
Pick: Gasquet in 3
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Chengdu Open: (5) Albert Ramos-Vinolas vs. Karen Khachanov
Prior to his arrival in Chengdu, Khachanov had been to an ATP quarterfinal only once and had never advanced to a semifinal. After all, the Russian is just 20 years old. But he is suddenly playing like a seasoned veteran and now finds himself in an ATP title match following defeats of Joao Sousa, Adrian Mannarino, Feliciano Lopez, and Viktor Troicki. Khachanov has dropped only one set (to Mannarino) and he has not even been pushed to a tiebreaker in his last six sets.
Surprisingly, Khachanov and Ramos-Vinolas have already gone head-to-head twice in their careers. Khachanov prevailed 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 three years ago on the indoor hard courts of Moscow before Ramos-Vinolas got the job done 4-6, 6-1, 6-0 a few months ago on the red clay of Istanbul. The 31st-ranked Spaniard is through to his third career ATP final and first on a hard court thanks to victories this week at the expense of Michael Berrer, Yen-Hsun Lu, Dominic Thiem, and Grigor Dimitrov. Seeking his second title on the main tour, Ramos-Vinolas should be able to rely on experience in what will likely be a competitive contest.
Pick: Ramos-Vinolas in 3
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who ya got?
I’m really really torn on Gasquet vs Berdych. Both were question marks heading into the tournament health wise but they both have played very well. This is really a toss up imo. My pick is Berdych in 3 I have a feeling he finds a way. And as for Khachanov vs ARV I have Khachanov in three I think the Russian will continue to swing free and confidently and power through. ARV is of course the favorite and could very well take it but I’m gonna go with the upset.
same as you, Benny.
Although I think ARV will win, it is good to see another next gen player rising. Khachanov is somebody we will hear a lot from in the future.
And Berdych in 3 i think.