The top seeds are intact in Hamburg, as Dominic Thiem takes the court against Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev faces Filip Krajinovic during quarterfinal action on Friday.
(1) Dominic Thiem vs. Andrey Rublev
This will be the third career meeting between top seed Dominic Thiem and Russia’s Andrey Rublev. Thiem won both encounters, but Rublev got pretty close to an upset in Monte Carlo last year, taking the Austrian to three tight sets. His first round WImbledon exit notwithstanding, Thiem has evolved into a great all-around tennis player. But clay will always be his best surface. Thiem is the 2019 French Open runner-up, and he holds titles at Indian Wells and Barcelona.
Rublev wasn’t able to play the French Open, as he has struggled with a wrist injury. He made his way back on tour for the grass season, but until this week, he has only managed to win a single match at each tournament he’s played. A quarterfinal showing is a good result for Rublev, but as he’s run into the second-best clay-courter in the world right now, his tournament is likely to end here.
Cheryl pick: Thiem in 2
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(2) Alexander Zverev vs. Filip Krajinovic
World No. 5 Alexander Zverev seems to have put aside his own opening round Wimbledon exit. The German has played well in front of the home crowd, skating through the first two rounds against accomplished clay courters Nicolas Jarry and Federico Delbonis. Zverev will once again have the edge on Friday, as he takes on Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic.
Krajinovic had a tricky second-round match against Martin Klizan, in which he lost the first set in the tiebreak before just squeezing out a 7-5 second set to level the match. Klizan eventually fell away in the third set, and Krajinovic snagged a 6-1 decider. Krajinovic has had some good results this year, but with his ranking outside the top 100 as recently as April, he has found himself spending half his time on the Challenger circuit. The effort paid off. He sits at No. 58 now and although Zverev is the heavy favorite, an upset wouldn’t be much of a surprise.
Cheryl pick: Zverev in 3
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