Philipp Kohlschreiber is still out here grinding on the ATP Tour, and he surprisingly finds himself in a quarterfinal–at the grass-court event in Halle against Andrey Rublev. Ugo Humbert and Sebastian Korda are also aiming for a place in the semis.
Ugo Humbert vs. Sebastian Korda
It will be an intriguing battle of rising stars when Humbert and Korda go head-to-head for the first time in their careers in the Halle quarterfinals on Friday afternoon. This section of the draw figured produce a showdown between Alexander Zverev and either Kei Nishikori or Roberto Bautista Agut, but Humbert and Korda had other ideas. Both youngsters have already delivered a pair of outstanding wins. Humbert knocked off former Wimbledon semifinalist Sam Querrey and then upset Zverev, a recent French Open semifinalist. Korda took care of Bautista Agut before ousting Nishikori in three sets on Thursday.
As those results indicate, we should be in for a high-quality contest. A slight edge probably goes to Humbert, who has more experience–especially on grass. The 22-year-old Frenchman made a run to the second week at Wimbledon in 2019. Korda’s serve is not quite where it needs to be yet for a player of his size, and that could end up costing him when service holds are so paramount to grass-court tennis.
Pick: Humbert in 3
(WC) Philipp Kohlschreiber vs. (4) Andrey Rublev
Rublev and Kohlschreiber will be squaring off for the second time in their careers on Friday. Their only previous encounter came at the 2017 clay-court tournament in Hamburg, where Kohlschreiber cruised 6-3, 6-1. Of course, Rublev was only 19 years old at the time and Kohlschreiber was much closer to his prime at 33.
It’s safe to say the tables have turned now. Rublev looks to be a perennial power in the top 10 for years and years to come, while Kohlschreiber’s career appears to be coming to a close. The 128th-ranked German has done extremely well to reach the last eight in Halle, but Rublev represents a massive step up in competition from Jurij Rodionov and Corentin Moutet. Kohlschreiber has faced only one Top 10 opponent since February of 2020 and that resulted in a 6-4, 6-2, 6-1 loss to Diego Schwartzman at the French Open. Rublev, who is an absolute master of ATP 500s, will likely inflict a similar beatdown.
Pick: Rublev in 2
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