One day after upsetting Roger Federer, Dominic Thiem will be looking for his first-ever title on grass when he takes the court against Philipp Kohlschreiber on Sunday in Stuttgart. In ‘s-Hertogenbosch, meanwhile, Nicolas Mahut is aiming for his third title in the last four seasons.
Mercedes Cup: (3) Dominic Thiem vs. (7) Philipp Kohlschreiber
It will be a showdown between doubles partners–both this week and next week in Halle–when Thiem and Kohlschreiber battle for the Stuttgart title on Sunday. They have faced each other on two previous occasions, with Kohlschreiber leading the head-to-head series 2-0. The German prevailed 6-0, 7-6(6) on the clay courts of Kitzbuhel last season and 7-6(7), 4-6, 7-6(4) again on clay in the recent Munich final. Thiem’s appearance in his ninth career ATP final may be the most surprising of all–but not because he has been lacking form, of course. Not only is grass the 22-year-old Austrian’s least favorite surface, but he is also coming right off a semifinal run at the French Open and he had to face Roger Federer in Saturday’s semis. Federer twice came within one point of victory, but Thiem battled back for a 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-4 upset. The world No. 7 preceded that result by taking out Sam Groth and Mikhail Youzhny.
Kohlschreiber is through to his 15th career ATP final and second of the year following straight-set wins this week over Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Denis Kudla, Radek Stepanek, and Juan Martin Del Potro. The 26th-ranked German is an even 7-7 lifetime in title matches and he boasts a solid 24-11 record for the 2016 campaign. Grass is a surface that favors Kohlschreiber, but Thiem’s confidence on the green stuff has to be soaring in the wake of Saturday’s performance and he will eager to avenge his recent defeats at the hands of his doubles partner.
Pick: Thiem in 3
[polldaddy poll=9443098]
Ricoh Open: (7) Gilles Muller vs. (8) Nicolas Mahut
Heading into Sunday’s action in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the six previous meetings between Muller and Mahut have all come at either the Futures or Challenger levels. Now the two veterans find themselves battling for an ATP title. Prior to this same event in 2013, Mahut had zero such titles in his entire career. At 32 years old, the Frenchman finally found the winners circle, after which he lifted the Newport trophy a few weeks later and triumphed again in ‘s-Hertogenbosch last summer. Clearly a grass-court specialist, Mahut–who recently ascended to the No. 1 doubles ranking–has advanced to another final with victories this week over Lukas Lacko, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Bernard Tomic, and Sam Querrey.
At 33 years old and still saddled with zero ATP titles in three final appearances, Muller will be hoping to take a page out of his opponent’s book. In the twilight of a career that once saw the Luxembourgian peak at 34th in the world and currently has him at No. 44, he has to be considered one of the best players to have never captured a title. Muller is now one win away–again–thanks to defeats of Robin Haase, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, David Ferrer, and Ivo Karlovic. This has to be considered Muller’s best chance to get over the hump, as his three previous finals have all come against Grand Slam singles champions. He lost to Lleyton Hewitt 12 years ago in Washington, D.C., to Andre Agassi in Los Angeles one season later, and to Andy Roddick at the 2012 Atlanta event. That being said, facing Mahut in ‘s-Hertogenbosch is a very difficult proposition and the seventh seed will undoubtedly be feeling a ton of pressure.
Pick: Mahut in 3
[polldaddy poll=9443100]
^^^ I get a pat on the back too 🙂
I stuck with Thiem.
Congratulations to me! 🙂