Julien Benneteau is two wins away from his first career ATP title as he goes up against Stanislas Wawrinka in the Kuala Lumpur semifinals on Saturday. Meanwhile, Joao Sousa is looking to maintain his hot streak against Jurgen Melzer. Hasan Murad previews the action.
(5) Julien Benneteau vs. (2) Stanislas Wawrinka
Benneteau and Wawrinka will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers when they contest a marquee semifinal of the Malaysian Open. The pair has split two career meetings on hard courts and both are most comfortable on the hard surface. Benneteau pocketed impressive wins in similar playing conditions in Rotterdam earlier in the year, including a straight-set victory over Roger Federer. The Frenchman has struggled his way to the semifinals this week, but he is capable of doing damage to the top players because of his ability to take the ball early and return aggressively. He won 51 percent of return points en route to his 6-3 6-3 triumph over Adrian Mannarino in the quarterfinals.
Continuing his cadence from the U.S. Open, Wawrinka is piling up wins yet again. He outlasted the in-form Dmitry Tursunov in a third-set tiebreaker and once again his ability to play the big points well got him out of jail. He saved five of seven break points and did not falter under pressure. The Swiss has been ranked in the Top 10 for 16 weeks and is one of the hottest players on tour right now. With the exodus of top seed David Ferrer, Wawrinka is the favorite to win his first-ever title on an indoor hard courts.
Pick: Wawrinka in 2
[polldaddy poll=7430421]
(SE) Joao Sousa vs. (4) Jurgen Melzer
Having won their previous meeting on the clay courts of Acapulco this year, Sousa will take on Melzer for the second time in 2013 to mark their second career meeting. After receiving a drubbing from Novak Djokovic in the third round of this year’s U.S. Open, Sousa has been soaring high. Beating a Top 4 player has been the most recent of additions to his achievements this year as he dispatched Ferrer in two sets. The unseeded Portuguese will be attempting to reach his first-ever final of an ATP event.
In stark contrast, his semifinal opponent is enduring a rough patch of form of late. Aside from his winning run in Winston-Salem, Melzer has not won a single match post-Wimbledon in four other tournaments plus a Davis Cup tie before heading to Kuala Lumpur. However, the 32-year old Austrian will have to bring out his best to counter the in-form Sousa, who is brimming with confidence and not feeling any pressure. Melzer, a veteran on tour has more than 300 match wins to his name, definitely has the advantage in terms of experience–but the edge has to go to Sousa because of his current form.
Pick: Sousa in 3
[polldaddy poll=7430418]
Leave a Reply