The Stuttgart title is coming down to Roger Federer and Milos Raonic after Federer outlasted Nick Kyrgios in a third-set tiebreaker on Saturday. In ‘s-Hertogenbosch, meanwhile, an all-French final features Richard Gasquet and Jeremy Chardy.
Mercedes Cup: (1) Roger Federer vs. (7) Milos Raonic
Federer and Raonic will be squaring off for the 14th time in their careers when they battle for the Stuttgart title on Sunday afternoon. The head-to-head series stands at 10-3 in favor of Federer, who has won three of their four previous grass-court encounters. They have split a pair of Wimbledon meetings the past two seasons, with Raonic scoring a 6-3, 6-7(3), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 semifinal upset before Federer cruised 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(4) in last year’s quarters. Unlike in his loss to Raonic at the All-England Club, the Swiss was healthy and well-rested in 2017–and that is exactly what he is this time around, too. Federer is back after skipping the clay-court swing and he will return to No. 1 in the world next week thanks to victories over Mischa Zverev (3-6, 6-4, 6-2), Guido Pella (6-4, 6-4), and Nick Kyrgios (in a third-set tiebreaker).
Raonic played in Monte-Carlo and Madrid, reaching the third round in both places, but also missed the French Open. The world No. 35 is now recovered from a knee injury and has clinched a seed at Wimbledon with Stuttgart defeats of Mirza Basic, Marton Fucsovics, Tomas Berdych, and Lucas Pouille. Raonic has not yet dropped a set this week, but Federer has been holding serve just as easily and the top seed’s return game is obviously far superior.
Pick: Federer in 2
[polldaddy poll=10032634]
Libema Open: Jeremy Chardy vs. (2) Richard Gasquet
It will be an all-French affair when Gasquet and Chardy face each other for the sixth time in their careers and for the third time in less than three months–this time in the ‘s-Hertogenbosch final on Sunday. Gasquet is leading the head-to-head series 4-1 following a 6-4, 7-6(5) victory on the red clay of Monte-Carlo. That avenged a 7-5, 6-1 loss to Chardy at the Miami Masters, where the former world No. 7 was plagued by a back injury.
Grass has been just what the doctor ordered for Chardy, who was wallowing down at No. 100 in the rankings earlier this season and registered at 86th just a few weeks but will climb to No. 61 on Monday even if he loses in the title match. The 31-year-old triumphed at the Surbiton Challenger last week and so far in Stuttgart he has taken out Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (in a third-set tiebreaker), Adrian Mannarino, Mackenzie McDonald (in another third-set tiebreaker), and Matthew Ebden. Gasquet punched his ticket to championship Sunday by beating Evgeny Donskoy, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Bernard Tomic, surrendering just one set to Tomic in the process. The world No. 30 can improve to 15-15 lifetime in ATP finals with a victory in this one, and he should be able to do that against a familiar foe whom he has mostly owned aside from the injury-induced Miami setback.
Pick: Gasquet in 3
[polldaddy poll=10032636]
Leave a Reply