Top two seeds Milos Raonic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will continue their Lyon campaigns on Friday. Spots in the title match will be at stake when they go up against Tomas Berdych and Nikoloz Basilashvili, respectively, during semifinal action.
Nikoloz Basilashvili vs. (2) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Tsonga and Basilashvili will be squaring off for the first time in their careers when they battle for a place in the final of the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Lyon on Friday. Although Tsonga would normally be more interested in practicing at Roland Garros and resting up for the French Open, that is not the case this year. Due to both poor play and relative inactivity stemming from the recent birth of his first child, the 13th-ranked Frenchman has few clay-court matches under his belt heading into the season’s second slam. He lost his opener in Monte-Carlo and withdrew from Madrid after one victory, a stretch that came on the heels of playing one total match in Indian Wells and Miami (fell to Fabio Fognini in the desert and then withdrew from Miami). So far in Lyon, however, Tsonga has advanced by taking out Carlos Berlocq in three sets and Karen Khachanov in straights.
Basilashvili’s run this week has come completely out of nowhere. Since reaching the Memphis final in February, the 71st-ranked Georgian went 2-7 in his next nine main-draw, ATP tournament matches. He also lost in Madrid qualifying 7-5, 6-0 to world No. 712 Nicola Kuhn. But Basilashvili suddenly punched his ticket to the Lyon semis with wins over Borna Coric, Andreas Seppi, and Nicolas Kicker. Tsonga should be motivated to get two more matches in–this one and the final–before the French Open, so look for him to treat the home crowd to a hard-fought victory.
Pick: Tsonga in 3
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(1) Milos Raonic vs. (3) Tomas Berdych
Raonic and Berdych will be facing each other for the eighth time in their careers and for the second time during this clay-court swing. They just met last week in Rome, where Raonic dominated 6-3, 6-2 to take a 5-2 lead in the head-to-head series. Not including a retirement by the Canadian in 2015, Raonic has won three in a row at Berdych’s expense–and five consecutive sets.
The world No. 6 is a stellar 19-5 this season, but recent physical problems combined with Rafael Nadal’s clay-court hot streak mean he is missing out on top four seed at Roland Garros by just one spot. Raonic is warming up nicely for the French Open with twin 6-4, 6-3 defeats of Denis Istomin and Gastao Elias to reach the Lyon semis. Berdych joined him there with straight-set victories over Hyeon Chung and Gilles Simon. The 14th-ranked Czech has not beaten anyone in the top 25 since Rotterdam in February and his most recent performance against Raonic does not bode well.
Pick: Raonic in 3
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who ya got?
Tsonga in two and Raonic in three
Basilashvili and Raonic in 2
Song in 2 and Berd in 2.
the sleeve and bi jo in 2&3 respectively. nice warm for both who needed some matches before RG
Tsonga in three,Raonic in two