Stefanos Tsitsipas has found some of his old magic; the former French Open finalist will face Alexander Shevchenko in the Gstaad semis. On the other side of the draw are two in-form but surprise semifinalists in Juan Manuel Cerundolo and Raphael Collignon.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Alexander Shevchenko
A ranking of No. 85 in the world says more about where Tsitsipas’ year has gone than a Swiss Opens semifinal appearance says about his game is right now. He opened by beating fifth seed Ignacio Buse and then needed deciding sets in consecutive rounds to get past Jerome Kym and Arthur Rinderknech. That’s two matches in a row where he was pushed to the brink and found a way through — probably a good sign all things considered.
Alexander Shevchenko holds the head-to-head lead 1-0, but his victory came on hard court at the 2024 United Cup and doesn’t tell us much about clay. The bottom line is that Tsitsipas is playing far better than his ranking suggests and he is on his most comfortable surface. I’m giving the nod to the Greek to close it out in three.
Cheryl pick: Tsitsipas in 3
Ricky pick: Tsitsipas in 2
(7) Raphael Collignon vs. (6) Juan Manuel Cerundolo
Collignon has low key been the story of the week in Gstaad, coming in at a career-high ranking of No. 42 to make his first ATP clay quarterfinal. And wow did he work for it. He beat Timofey Skatov 3-6, 7-6(1), 6-4, Lorenzo Sonego 7-6(2), 7-6(5), and Valentin Vacherot 7-6(7), 4-6, 7-5 — which means he can pull it out when it really matters but hasn’t exactly been dominant, either. Cerundolo has taken the scenic route, too, saving his best tennis for third sets — most notably against Casper Ruud, a match highlighted by a strategic string of moonballs in the second and third sets.
The head-to-head favors Cerundolo (3-0) and the most recent meeting is the one that matters most. They met in the Bordeaux Challenger final earlier this year on clay and Cerundolo prevailed 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(4). I’m banking on history repeating itself. Both guys are grinding rather than blitzing their way through this draw, the altitude adds a layer of unpredictability to ball flight, and Saturday’s forecast (high near 68, rain chances climbing through the day) could easily push this toward a delay or a decider played in heavier conditions. Cerundolo has been here before against this exact opponent and come through, and I think the pattern holds. Look for Cerundolo to get through in three.
Cheryl pick: Cerundolo in 3
Ricky pick: Collignon in 3
WWW?
Tsi in 3; Dolo in a tough 3
congrats to me
That one went down to the wire. So competitive. Collignon seems to be practicing a sprint finish lately.
All this congrats to yourself needs a bit of backing, Ricky. Maybe buy yourself a gift basket, with nice cheese etc.
a bunch of 3 setters in Gstaad
Collignon squeaked through
Im a fan , and he did play really well when iot mattered, serving and volleyif against Dolo who returned serve Meddy style
Cerundolo got 5 more points than Collignon in the whole match. But Collignon got 7 more points than Cerundolo in the last set. He turned it up big time in the third set and played better than his opponent in all the criteria they list on the ATP Match Stats. So well done!