It’s a blockbuster semifinal lineup in Marseille, where every one of the top four seeds will be taking the court on Saturday. No. 1 Hubert Hurkacz is going up against Ugo Humbert and No. 2 Grigor Dimitrov awaits Karen Khachanov.
(1) Hubert Hurkacz vs. (4) Ugo Humbert
Hurkacz and Humbert will be going head-to-head for the fourth time in their careers when they battle for a spot in the Open 13 title match on Saturday. All three of their previous encounters have gone the way of Hurkacz, who prevailed in straight sets at the 2022 Halle event, in three a year later on the indoor hard courts of Basel, and in four earlier this season at the Australian Open.
After beating Humbert at Melbourne Park, Hurkacz ended up reaching the quarterfinals–where he lost to Daniil Medvedev in five sets. The eighth-ranked Pole has remained in fine form with Marseille victories over Alexander Shevchenko and Tomas Machac. Humbert booked his place in the semis by beating Hugo Gaston and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The 21st-ranked Frenchman has been playing the best tennis of his career dating back to last fall and he will have the home crowd behind him, so he cannot be discounted. However, even on a slow surface Hurkacz has been the most dominant player this week. The defending champion had absolutely no trouble with either Shevchenko or Machac; he appears to be on his way to a successful title defense.
Pick: Hurkacz in 3
(3) Karen Khachanov vs. (2) Grigor Dimitrov
Dimitrov suffered a disappointing loss to Nuno Borges in round three of the Australian Open, but aside from that aberration all signs point to the veteran extending his momentum from last season into 2024. The 13th-ranked Bulgarian is already seeking his second ATP 250 title of the year, having previously triumphed in Brisbane. His week in Marseille is off to a strong start with straight-set wins at the expense of Sebastian Korda and Arthur Rinderknech.
Up next for Dimitrov on Saturday is a fourth meeting with Khachanov, who is 0-3 lifetime in the head-to-head series. Dimitrov got the job done on indoor hard courts in 2020 (Vienna) and 2021 (Paris) before winning 7-6(6), 6-4 this past fall at the Shanghai Masters. Khachanov has also been cruising this week, as he ousted Roberto Bautista Agut (6-2, 6-2) and Zhizhen Zhang (6-4, 6-1). The unusually slow surface arguably favors the 18th-ranked Russian, but Dimitrov is in overall better form and he obviously owns a significant upper hand in this particular matchup.
Pick: Dimitrov in 3
WWW?
Looks close, doesn’t it.
Will be interesting to see if Khachonov has enough edge in other departments to swing the pendulum.
I’m not sure that was a form “aberration”; there’s no disputing he’s been in career best form.
Yes, Ugo! It seems like a long time since he won against Hubie. If ever?
💜 Ugo!
Poor Hubie will have to wait until the grass season or end of year before he wins another event.
If the playboy wins rhis, I will be….surprised….