Marin Cilic will continue his Geneva campaign on Thursday in the quarterfinals against Santiago Giraldo. Stan Wawrinka and Federico Delbonis are also aiming for a place in the last four.
Santiago Giraldo vs. (2) Marin Cilic
Cilic and Giraldo will be going head-to-head for the fifth time in their careers when they do battle in the quarterfinals of the Geneva Open on Thursday. All four of their previous encounters have gone Cilic’s way, but they have never completed a match against each other on clay. Their only previous encounter on the slow stuff came last year in Rome, where Cilic led 6-4, 2-0 when Giraldo retired. The 10th-ranked Croat’s other wins came in 2010 (Chennai), 2011 (Australian Open), and 2013 (Miami).
Giraldo has already picked up two victories this week; 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3 over Ricardas Berankis and 6-4, 6-4 over Mikhail Youzhny. The 67th-ranked Colombian maybe rounding into form following a stretch of four consecutive tournaments in which never won back-to-back matches. Cilic has won back-to-back matches only once this season (he reached the Monte-Carlo third round before falling to Novak Djokovic). The No. 2 seed has been an injury-plagued disaster ever since his stunning run to the 2014 U.S. Open title. He is just 4-5 on the year after saving a match point en route to a 4-6, 7-6(7), 6-1 defeat of 17-year-old Russian Andrey Rublev on Tuesday. Giraldo is far more match-tough at the moment and should be able to get the best of Cilic on clay.
Pick: Giraldo in 3
[polldaddy poll=8881574]
(1) Stan Wawrinka vs. Federico Delbonis
Wawrinka and Delbonis will be squaring off for the second time in their careers and for the second time on a clay court in Switzerland. Their only previous meeting came six years ago in Gstaad, where Wawrinka got the job done 6-4, 7-5. The top-seeded Swiss treated his home fans to a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 opening win over Lukas Rosol on Wednesday. He is 22-7 on the season and coming off a semifinal showing in Rome.
Delbonis has advanced this week with routine 6-3, 6-4 victories over Teymuraz Gabashvili and Andrey Kuznetsov. The 74th-ranked Argentine is 10-8 at the ATP level for his 2015 campaign with three clay-court quarterfinals (including this week) in addition to a Challenger title on the slow stuff in Sarasota. Wawrinka was inspired enough to win one match in Geneva, but now it might be time to head off to Roland Garros. The end of the road could come against a tough clay-courter like Delbonis.
Pick: Delbonis in 3
[polldaddy poll=8881786]
Glad that Gulbis could finally win a match, and I like Giraldo in 2 and the Stanimal in 3.
If ever one needed proof that we are living through a weak era, one only has to look at Cilic, as a Slam winner………..
Eugenie Bouchard has been named the most marketable athlete in the world.
Is she an athlete? Oh, alright……………
#Kournikova
amazing, youre getting all results right, thank you!!
get used to it!
really ? 🙂
#YouCanNotBeSerious
No.
#Raonic
#Pospisil
#Isner
Flat out ridiculous for calling a 3 to 1 Underdog! Thanks!
all i do is pick winners
really ? 🙂
#YouCanNotBeSerious
[polldaddy poll=8885488]
Bouchard isnt an Athlete? she played well last year Sf at French open Sf at Australian open, Final at Wimbledon. This year she is in a Sophomore slump but this isnt exactly the end of the world for a 21 year old.
*sigh* Do I have to draw a picture with my tongue firmly stuck in my cheek? Aaaagh! Why don’t people laugh anymore??
I guess Ricky there is only 1 contender for French open this year, Djokovic is the pick to win and he wont even be challenged.
I wouldn’t put my life savings on that if I were you, 2011 could happen. Rafa may not be at his best but I believe his loss to Stan in Rome was an outlier, he is still better than Stan. I believe Rafa’s level right now is a notch below the top 4’s, he has been playing at the mid-Top 10 table level, which is where his ranking is.
I believe can beat anyone, including Fed and Muzza, at RG, except Novak right now. Having said that, Novak can be taken out by anyone at RG and I believe it could happen this year. If that happens (like it did before), Rafa could lift La Decima this year.
Rafa will be lucky this year.
No, I am not drunk, yet…………….
^^Should read, “I believe Rafa can beat anyone………………”