Andy Murray will look to add another title to his 2016 haul when he takes the court against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Sunday in Vienna. In Basel, meanwhile, Marin Cilic is ultimately looking to join Kei Nishikori in the World Tour Finals.
Erste Bank Open: (1) Andy Murray vs. (6) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Murray and Tsonga will be squaring off for the 16th time in their careers at the ATP level when they battle for the Vienna title on Sunday. The head-to-head series stands at 13-2 in favor of Murray, who has taken 12 of their last 13 encounters. The second-ranked Scot had won eight consecutive sets at Tsonga’s expense heading into a quarterfinal showdown at Wimbledon this summer, but the Frenchman suddenly made things competitive after at first seeing his sets lost skid reach 10. Murray stumbled in the third and fourth sets at the All-England Club but managed to hold off Tsonga 7-6(10), 6-1, 3-6, 4-6, 6-1 on his way to the title.
Murray’s current hot streak, which started just before Wimbledon at Queen’s Club, features five titles in the span of seven events. He is now one victory away from making it six in the last eight. Vienna’s top seed has improved to 39-2 in his last 41 tournament matches following wins this week over Martin Klizan, Gilles Simon, and John Isner (he also got a walkover from David Ferrer). Tsonga rolled over Benjamin Becker, Philipp Kohlschreiber, and Albert Ramos-Vinolas in straight sets before coming back from a set and a break down to beat Ivo Karlovic 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(6). The world No. 15 is a solid 35-15 for the year and still in distant contention for a spot in the World Tour Finals. But this has never been a good matchup for Tsonga, and there is no reason to think that will change against a well-rested opponent who did not even have to play a semifinal match.
Pick: Murray in 2
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Swiss Indoors Basel: (4) Marin Cilic vs. (3) Kei Nishikori
It will be a rematch of the 2014 U.S. Open final when Cilic and Nishikori clash in the Basel final on Sunday. Cilic dominated their most important contest 6-3, 6-3, 6-3, but he trails the overall head-to-head series 7-4. They have not completed a full match against each since last fall, because Nishikori retired from a fourth-round Wimbledon showdown this summer while trailing 6-1, 5-1.
The world No. 5 is healthy now and has 19 of 24 matches since leaving the All-England Club, a stretch that includes a bronze medal at the Rio Olympics. Nishikori took care of Dusan Lajovic, Paolo Lorenzi, and Juan Martin Del Potro in straight sets this week before saving two match points in a 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-3 defeat of Gilles Muller on Saturday. Cilic has advanced with victories over Mikhail Youzhny, Pablo Carreno Busta, Marcel Granollers, and Mischa Zverev, dropping just one set to a red-hot Zverev in the process. The 12th-ranked Croat’s semifinal win will send him past Tomas Berdych into World Tour Finals qualification position heading into the final regular-season tournament, next week’s Paris Masters. A motivated and in-form Cilic should be able to add a significant number of points to his total at Nishikori’s expense.
Pick: Cilic in 3
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