The Bastad title is coming down to familiar foes David Ferrer and Alexandr Dolgopolov on Sunday. In Newport, meanwhile, top seed John Isner is looking to take care of business against qualifier Matthew Ebden.
SkiStar Swedish Open: (8) David Ferrer vs. Alexandr Dolgopolov
Ferrer and Dolgopolov will be squaring off for the 14th time in their careers when they battle for the Bastad title on Sunday. The head-to-head series stands at 9-4 in favor of Ferrer, but it has been more competitive since the Spaniard took seven of their first eight encounters from 2010 through early in 2014. Dolgopolov is 3-2 in their last five meetings after most recently getting the job done 6-4, 6-4 on the red clay of Rio de Janeiro earlier in 2017.
That was part of a disastrous season-opening stretch for Ferrer, but the 35-year-old has evened his record at 14-14 thanks to Bastad victories over Federico Delbonis, Dustin Brown, Henri Laaksonen, and Fernando Verdasco. He had already displayed signs of a turnaround by reaching the Wimbledon third round, with an upset of Richard Gasquet in the process. Dolgopolov’s success has come even more out of nowhere, as the injury-plagued Ukrainian had retired from five matches this season–including against eventual champion Roger Federer in round one at the All-England Club. Ranked 89th in the world, Dolgopolov suddenly finds himself in the Bastad final followings wins over Leonardo Mayer, Horacio Zeballos, Karen Khachanov, and Andrey Kuznetsov. Dolgopolov has arguably been the best player this week, but he owns only three career ATP titles. A seemingly rejuvenated Ferrer, on the other hand, has won 26.
Pick: Ferrer in 3
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Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open: (1) John Isner vs. (Q) Matthew Ebden
It will be a tale of two very different finalists in Newport on Sunday. Isner is playing in his 23rd career ATP title match, including his 18th in the United States and third in Newport. Ebden, on the other hand, had never previously appeared in an ATP semifinal. Even though Isner has struggled throughout 2017, his berth in this final comes as no surprise. The 6’10” American is the No. 1 seed and he became even more of a favorite when second-seeded Ivo Karlovic lost in the quarters to Peter Gojowyczk. Isner has enjoyed arguably his easiest path to a championship match, with straight-set victories over Sam Groth, Dennis Novikov, and Bjorn Fratangelo that did not even require a single tiebreaker.
This marks the third career contest between Isner and Ebden, with the world No. 21 sweeping the head-to-head series 2-0. He prevailed 6-4, 7-5 at the 2012 Indian Wells Masters and 6-2, 7-6(8), 6-4 two years ago at Wimbledon. Ebden has disappeared from the main tour since then and he is toiling away at 249th in the rankings. Prior to arriving in Newport, the 29-year-old Australian’s grass-court swing featured nothing more than two first-round Challenger losses, a Challenger qualifying failure, and a first-round loss at the inaugural ATP event in Antalya. Out of nowhere, however, Ebden is into his first ATP final thanks to defeats of Rajeev Ram, Lukas Lacko, Tobias Kamke, and Gojowyczk–donating just one set to Kamke along the way. A massive step up in competition should bring about a swift end to Ebden’s successful week while giving Isner his third Newport title.
Pick: Isner in 2
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I agree Ricky. The Little Beast and Isner. Looking forward to Atlanta and then of course the big swing of D.C., Montreal and Cincy. I’ll be in D.C.and Cincy.
2017 Bastad F Clay Alexandr Dolgopolov David Ferrer Upcoming
2017 Rio De Janeiro R32 Clay Alexandr Dolgopolov David Ferrer 6-4 6-4
2016 US Open R128 Hard David Ferrer Alexandr Dolgopolov Retired
2016 Acapulco R16 Hard Alexandr Dolgopolov David Ferrer 6-4 6-4
2015 Paris Masters R32 Hard David Ferrer Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-2 6-2
2014 Rio De Janeiro SF Clay Alexandr Dolgopolov David Ferrer 6-4 6-4
2014 Doha R32 Hard David Ferrer Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3 5-7 6-3
2013 Wimbledon R32 Grass David Ferrer Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-7 7-6 2-6 6-1 6-2
2012 Valencia F Hard David Ferrer Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-1 3-6 6-4
2011 Paris Masters R16 Hard David Ferrer Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3 6-2
2011 Nice QF Clay Alexandr Dolgopolov David Ferrer 6-4 1-6 7-5
2011 Acapulco SF Clay David Ferrer Alexandr Dolgopolov 5-7 6-1 6-1
2010 US Open R128 Hard David Ferrer Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-2 6-2 6-3
2010 Cincinnati Masters R64 Hard David Ferrer Alexandr Dolgopolov 3-6 6-3 6-4
looking at the record and recent h t h it is very evident that Dolgopolov will win this in 3 also possibly losing the first set and evening their finals record at 1-1
Isner in two and Dolgopolov in three
Can anyone tell why Isner will win in 2 sets? There is not a single indicator that I can see which tells that Isner will win in 2 sets, except for his higher ranking. Higher ranking loses to top current form 90% of the times!
Both the H2H matches played between Isner & Mathew went over the over!lol Showing that the match was competitive. This fact should be portrayed!
The only match played on grass ended in 3 sets {6-2, 7-6(8), 6-4} with Isner losing the 2nd. Why not the same 3 setter match happen today? Being the final, the possibility is even more as the Title and a huge paycheck is on the line and we can expect both to fight tooth and nail. Mathew might fight harder as he has the chance to win the 1st ATP title of his life! Who in this chatroom or in life will not fight extra hard to win, given such a wonderful opportunity?
Mathew is also coming into the finals with a 6 match winning streak giving him more confidence than Isner! So, Mathew has strong momentum which can give him the win! Why is no one discussing all the positives that Mathew has and just praising Isner to heaven? If Isner loses like Peter Gojowyczyk, do you know guys how many poor bettors will lose millions of their hard earned or borrowed (from friends, credit cards etc.) money?
More than the Title and a big paycheck being the carrot, Mathew (13/4) has the far better Grass form than Isner (5/3 on grass) in 2017! As only the current form matters and not the titles won previously, Mathew should be recommended that he has a strong chance to win!
Because of this Top Grass form, yesterday Mathew beat Peter Gojowyczyk like a newbie. This caused many to lose big money betting on Peter Gojowyczyk . How come no one mentioned the great grass form of Mathew Ebden and recommend that Peter Gojowyczyk will win in 2 sets? Instead the recommendation should be-“ Mathew Ebden to win in 2 or 3”. The bookies made millions of dollars that were bet on Peter Gojowyczyk due to wrong recommendation and made the bettors poorer in life!
The same thing can happen today also, as Isner’s grass form is shaky! Everyone should mention that Mathew Ebden has a solid chance of winning, because of his greater Grass form and also far better performance in 2017 (29/16 vs 19/14 for Isner)! Mathew is hot and should be recommended as such so that people can make money on Mathew and not lose their hard earned money on Peter Gojowyczyk etc.
The match with Isner can a tight 3 setter (like their last H2H match) or at the most a tight 2 setter pushing the totals over (21.50), for the reasons listed above. Isner can win only if Mathew gases from playing 7 matches in 7 days and discouraged by 100% of the crowd supporting their local player John Isner! Besides Isner has to use every ounce of his experience and crowd support, if he wants to win!
Similarly Dolgo should be recommended to win (yesterday & today also) as he is superior to Ferrer or Kuznetsov in all respects. Many people lost 1000’s of their hard earned money on Kuznetsov as Dolgo was projected as a danger, loser etc. Ferrer will definitely fight but Dolgo will win because of better current form and due to superior talent/skills!
We are mostly discussing Isner probably because he hasn’t lost a set and none of them have gone to tiebreaks. That is insane for Isner. That leads me to believe Ebden has like a 5-10% chance of winning.
…well dolgo will lose today!lol
Ferrer is back…hooray!…and the Big dawg in straight.