A trio of Spaniards will be in action when the Geneva quarterfinals take place on Thursday. Pablo Carreno Busta gets a shot at No. 1 seed Stan Wawrinka, while David Ferrer is going up against countryman Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
(1) Stan Wawrinka vs. Pablo Carreno Busta
Wawrinka and Carreno Busta will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they clash in the quarterfinals of the Geneva Open on Thursday. Their only previous meeting came three years ago on the clay courts of Oeiras, where Wawrinka prevailed 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. The fourth-ranked Swiss is the defending champion of the upcoming French Open, but he is in dire need of a confidence boost prior to next week. Wawrinka was just 5-5 in his last 10 matches heading into Geneva, where he opened with a 6-1, 6-1 rout of Albert Ramos-Vinolas on Tuesday.
Carreno Busta benefited from playing in a quarter of the draw vacated by No. 5 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber. The 43rd-ranked Spaniard beat qualifier Christian Garin 6-2, 7-5 in the first round before rolling over countryman Inigo Cervantes 6-2, 6-4. Carreno Busta owns 18 ATP-level match victories this season and he finished runner-up in Estoril earlier this month. The discrepancy in offensive firepower, however, may be too great for the underdog to overcome in this one. Moreover, Wawrinka has home-court advantage and will be eager to get a few more matches under his belt before traveling to Paris.
Pick: Wawrinka in 2
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Guillermo Garcia-Lopez vs. (2) David Ferrer
It will be an all-Spanish affair when Ferrer and Garcia-Lopez face each other for the 12th time in their careers on Thursday. They have already squared off twice during this clay-court swing, with Ferrer getting the job done 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 in Madrid and 6-4, 6-3 in Rome. He is now leads the head-to-head series 10-1 and has picked up nine victories in a row at Garcia-Lopez’s expense. Ferrer has taken nine of their last 10 total sets and not a single one of those nine in the world No. 12’s favor has been more competitive than 6-4.
Struggling both physically and with his game at the moment, Ferrer’s 2016 record stands at a mere 17-9. Having lost prior to the quarterfinals of four consecutive tournaments, Geneva’s second seed was in need of some good fortune and that is exactly what he got on Wednesday. Ferrer trailed Denis Istomin by a set and a break before the Uzbek retired with a back injury while leading 6-3, 3-2. Garcia-Lopez has advanced by taking out Americans Sam Querrey and Rajeev Ram in straight sets. The 32-year-old is 15-14 for the season and is through to his sixth quarterfinal–but he is just 1-4 in five previous quarterfinal matches. Although Ferrer has not defeated a ton of people recently, he has not had too much trouble with Garcia-Lopez.
Pick: Ferrer in 3
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