Finals previews and predictions: Thiem vs. Bedene, Querrey vs. Anderson

Dominic Thiem is one win away from another clay-court title, with Aljaz Bedene standing in his way in the Buenos Aires final on Sunday. At the inaugural New York Open, meanwhile, Sam Querrey is facing familiar foe Kevin Anderson.

Argentina Open: (1) Dominic Thiem vs. Aljaz Bedene

Thiem and Bedene will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers at the ATP level when they clash in the Buenos Aires final on Sunday. Both of their previous encounters have gone Thiem’s way; 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3 at the 2015 French Open and 7-5, 6-4 on the hard courts of Doha earlier this season. A return to clay will only benefit the sixth-ranked Austrian, who has captured six of his eight career ATP titles on the slow stuff (including at this tournament in 2016). Thiem is back in the Buenos Aires final following straight-set victories over Horacio Zeballos, Guido Pella, and Gael Monfils.

Bedene is through to his third main-tour title match and first on clay, having previously lost at the 2015 Chennai event and two years later in Budapest. The 51st-ranked Slovenian is enjoying of one of his best-ever weeks thanks to wins at the expense Jiri Vesely, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Diego Schwartzman, and Federico Delbonis. Bedene had previously been a mere 1-3 in ATP tournament action this season, due in part to a terrible Australian Open draw (lost to eventual champion Roger Federer in the first round). On this surface and with so much final experience already under his belt, Thiem is obviously a massive favorite in this one.

Pick: Thiem in 2

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New York Open: (1) Kevin Anderson vs. (2) Sam Querrey

The inaugural New York final is a much tougher one to call, as it features two familiar rivals who play an extremely similar style of tennis and are in the midst of a head-to-head series that could not be any closer following 15 career meetings. Querrey is 8-7 lifetime against Anderson and the two veterans are coming off a 2017 campaign in which they collided on three occasions, two of which resulted in their two most memorable showdowns to date. Querrey triumphed 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-7(11), 6-3 in the Wimbledon fourth round before Anderson survived a 7-6(5), 6-7(9), 6-3, 7-6(7) thriller in the U.S. Open quarterfinals on his way to a Grand Slam runner-up performance.

Both players faltered down the stretch of otherwise stellar 2017 campaigns, thus throwing away very realistic chances to play in the Nitto ATP Finals. Anderson, though, is clearly back in business and already through to his second final of the year–previously falling to Gilles Simon in Pune (another inaugural tournament). The 11th-ranked South African has advanced in New York by taking out Ernesto Escobedo, Frances Tiafoe, and Kei Nishikori all in three sets, including the latter in a final-set tiebreaker. Querrey, who had been just 1-2 overall in his first two events of 2018, has advanced with defeats of Mikhail Youzhny, Ivo Karlovic, and Adrian Mannarino. Formerly 0-3 lifetime against Mannarino, the 12th-ranked American said afterward that it felt like he beat Rafael Nadal. Obviously a major mental and physical effort was required of Querrey on Saturday; perhaps to an even greater extent than Anderson in his battle with Nishikori. In the pressure-packed moments, the top seed may be just bit tougher–similar to what transpired last summer in Flushing Meadows.

Pick: Anderson in 3

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