Top two seeds Milos Raonic and Marin Cilic will continue their Istanbul campaigns on Friday. They are set for respective quarterfinal showdowns against fellow seeds Bernard Tomic and Steve Darcis.
(1) Milos Raonic vs. (6) Bernard Tomic
Raonic and Tomic will be going head-to-head for the fifth time in their careers when they battle for a semifinal spot at the Istanbul Open on Friday. All four of their previous encounters have gone Raonic’s way and he has never even dropped a set against Tomic. They faced each other three times last season, with Raonic getting the job done in mostly routine fashion at the Brisbane International, the Indian Wells Masters, and Queen’s Club.
Although the sixth-ranked Canadian is a stellar 12-2 this season, he has completed only one match since the Delray Beach semis in February. Raonic withdrew from that title match with a hamstring injury, missed Indian Wells, and pulled out prior to a third-round contest in Miami. This week’s No. 1 seed returned on Wednesday, when he outlasted an in-form Aljaz Bedene 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(3). Tomic has picked up two much-needed wins in Istanbul; 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 over Mohamed Safwat and 7-5, 6-3 at the expense of Rogerio Dutra Silva. Still, the 40th-ranked Australian is just 5-7 this year and he has never been anywhere close to his best on clay. Raonic should be more comfortable throughout his second match of this tournament and maintain his mastery of Tomic.
Pick: Raonic in 2
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(8) Steve Darcis vs. (2) Marin Cilic
Darcis is an outstanding 13-6 this season as he heads into quarterfinal action on Friday in Istanbul. Unsurprisingly, three of those 13 victories have come in Davis Cup from “Mr. Davis Cup” himself. But the 49th-ranked Belgian has impressed at ATP events, as well. He reached the third round of the Aussie Open, quarterfinals in Sofia and Delray Beach, and he is through to another quarterfinal this week thanks to straight-set defeats of Dudi Sela and Jiri Vesely.
Up next for Darcis is a second career meeting with Cilic, who won their only previous encounter 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-1 eight years ago in Indian Wells. Cilic could really benefit from some more wins wither in Istanbul or in the near future before he heads to the French Open. Even after storming past Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday, the eighth-ranked Croat is a mere 8-8 in 2017 with no final appearances. That being said, Cilic is coming off a quarterfinal performance in Monte-Carlo and his result against Dzumhur suggests a wave of fine form is either on the way or already here. This may not be a great matchup for Darcis even on clay, as he cannot come close to equaling Cilic in the power department.
Pick: Cilic in 2
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who ya got?
Same as Ricky
Cilic and Raonic in three
Again I am with Benny.
Cilic and Raonic in 3 sets.
Both Raonic and Cilic shouldnt lose a set Both in 2