There is one all-seeded matchup and one all-unseeded matchup on Friday in Hamburg. With a semifinal spot at stake, No. 4 Roberto Bautista Agut is going up against No. 5 Andrey Rublev.
(4) Roberto Bautista Agut vs. (5) Andrey Rublev
Bautista Agut and Rublev will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers when they clash in the quarterfinals of the Hamburg European Open on Friday. The head-to-head series stands at 2-1 in favor of Bautista Agut, who prevailed five years ago in Valencia via a 6-2, 6-3 decision and at the 2018 Shanghai Masters (6-3, 6-4). Rublev exacted a measure of revenge by surviving a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(0) thriller at the 2019 Davis Cup Finals.
Bautista Agut has been in mostly solid form since tennis returned from the coronavirus hiatus. Although the 11th-ranked Spaniard lost to Vasek Pospisil in round two of the U.S. Open, he reached the Cincinnati semifinals and so far in Hamburg has defeated two-time defending champion Nikoloz Basilashvili and Rome quarterfinalist Dominik Koepfer. Rublev has also been one of the best players in the world this year, but a Rome second-round loss to Hubert Hurkacz was not encouraging and he needed three sets to scrape past Tommy Paul on Thursday. Bautista Agut can match the Russian forehand for forehand and he definitely has an edge in the backhand and second-serve departments.
Pick: Bautista Agut in 3
Ugo Humbert vs. Casper Ruud
Speaking of the best players in the world in 2020…well, no, Ruud is not among them. But he is one of the best clay-courters in the world right now, without question. The 21-year-old Norwegian has always been accomplished on the slow stuff (all three of his ATP finals–and one title–have come on this surface) and he is taking his dirtballing game to new heights this season. A semifinalist last week in Rome, Ruud has maintained his fine form by beating Benoit Paire and Fabio Fognini without coming close to losing a set.
Up next for the world No. 30 on Friday is Humbert, who upset top-seeded Daniil Medvedev in round one before defeating lucky loser Jiri Vesely. Their only previous meeting came earlier this year on the hard courts of Auckland, where Humbert won 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-3 on the way to his first career ATP title. On clay, though, Ruud is a completely different player. He is in red-hot form these days and should send the Frenchman on his way to the French Open.
Pick: Ruud in 2
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