A pair of all-seeded quarterfinals will take place on Friday in Kuala Lumpur. Ivo Karlovic is going up against Nick Kyrgios and Feliciano Lopez is facing Vasek Pospisil.
(7) Nick Kyrgios vs. (3) Ivo Karlovic
Karlovic and Kyrgios will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they battle for a spot in the Malaysian Open semifinals on Friday. Kyrgios won their only previous meeting 7-6(4), 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 earlier this season at the Australian Open. The 41st-ranked Aussie cooled off during a controversy-plagued summer, but he has now won two matches at a tournament for just the second time since Wimbledon. Kyrgios was crushing Santiago Giraldo 6-1, 2-1 when the Colombian retired and the No. 7 seed drubbed Tatsuma Ito 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday.
Karlovic has been in fine form just about the entire season. The 36-year-old Croat is 32-19 for his 2015 campaign and he registers four spots off his career-high ranking at No. 18 in the world. Karlovic has not lost in anything except a final-set tiebreaker since Montreal and he has not fallen in straight sets since Washington, D.C. The third seed opened in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Nikoloz Basilashvili. Playing indoors and not having to face Kyrgios on the 20-year-old’s home court, Karlovic should be able to avenge his prior defeat.
Pick: Karlovic in 3
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(8) Vasek Pospisil vs. (2) Feliciano Lopez
Lopez and Pospisil will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers and for the first time in more than four years when they meet again on Friday. Their only previous showdown came at the 2011 U.S. Open, where Lopez prevailed 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(5). Pospisil was just 21 years old at the time and is now a far more established player at No. 44 in the world. The recent Wimbledon quarterfinalist earned his spot in the last eight of this event by defeating Yasutaka Uchiyama 6-3, 6-4 and Marcos Baghdatis 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-3.
Following a first-round bye as the No. 2 seed, Lopez kicked off his Kuala Lumpur campaign with a 6-3, 7-6(4) victory over Mischa Zverev. The 34-year-old Spaniard is a decent 28-21 for the season and he registers at 17th in the rankings. This is his third consecutive quarterfinal on the heels of stellar performances in Cincinnati and at the U.S. Open. Lopez is in outstanding form and general fares well during the fall swing, so he should be able to hold off Pospisil in a high-quality affair.
Pick: Lopez in 3
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Feli in 3 and Kyrgios in 3
Kyrgios in 2 and Lopez in 3
Reblogged this on Tennis Abides.