Quarterfinal competition will take place in Halle on Friday, when Felix Auger-Aliassime is going up against Hubert Hurkacz. Unseeded Nick Kyrgios is a considerable favorite over Pablo Carreno Busta even though the Spaniard is seeded sixth.
(5) Hubert Hurkacz vs. (4) Felix Auger-Aliassime
Auger-Aliassime and Hurkacz will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers when they battle for a semifinal spot at the Terra Wortmann Open on Friday evening. Both of their previous meetings have gone Auger-Aliassime’s way; 7-6(5), 6-4 at the 2019 Miami Masters and 6-3, 7-5 in the first round of this same Halle event last summer.
Both players are looking poised to make major noise at Wimbledon, just as they did in 2021 (Hurkacz reached the semifinals, Auger-Aliassime the quarters). However, it is the ninth-ranked Canadian who has been more consistent both this year and throughout his career on grass. A two-time Stuttgart finalist, Auger-Aliassime is coming off a semifinal showing last week in Stuttgart and so far in Halle he has dismissed Marcos Giron and Mackenzie McDonald. This should be a high-quality encounter on the lawn, but Auger-Aliassime has always enjoyed success in this matchup and that will likely continue on Friday.
Pick: Auger-Aliassime in 2
(6) Pablo Carreno Busta vs. (WC) Nick Kyrgios
Kyrgios has badmouthed Carreno Busta for being a clay-court specialist who is hopeless on other surfaces, which obviously isn’t accurate at all. The 30-year-old Spaniard owns two hard-court titles and he has been to the semifinals of the U.S. Open twice. However, it would be fair to say that Carreno Busta is a grass-court novice. The world No. 19 was just 4-10 lifetime on the green stuff heading into Halle, so he has done extremely well to reach the quarterfinals with victories over Holger Rune and Sebastian Korda.
It’s a much different story for Kyrgios, as grass suits his game to perfection. The 65th-ranked Australia powered his way to the Stuttgart semifinals last week (lost to Andy Murray) and has posted Halle wins at the expense of Daniel Altmaier and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Kyrgios is sweeping the head-to-head series against Carreno Busta 2-0 (including on clay seven years ago) and there is no reason to think anything will change on grass.
Pick: Kyrgios in 2
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Kyrgios in two tight sets with a lot of controversy