Two of the top three seeds are still alive in Monte-Carlo, as Alexander Zverev will battle Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinals on Saturday. The other matchup is an all-unseeded affair between Grigor Dimitrov and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
(3) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. (2) Alexander Zverev
Zverev and Tsitsipas will be squaring off for the 10th time in their careers when they meet again in the semifinals of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Saturday afternoon. Tsitsipas leads the head-to-head series 6-3, including 2-0 on clay. Their two previous encounters on the red stuff have come at the 2019 Madrid Masters and at Roland Garros in 2021, with the Greek getting the job done in final sets on both occasions.
Neither player has been on fire this season, but each one is looking good in Monte-Carlo. Tsitsipas did not drop a set against Fabio Fognini and Laslo Djere before outlasting Diego Schwartzman in a 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-4 quarterfinal roller-coaster. The good news for the third seed is that Zverev is coming off an even longer quarterfinal contest, as the second-seeded German scraped past Jannik Sinner 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(5) after three hours and seven minutes. Zverev preceded that result by beating Federico Delbonis and Pablo Carreno Busta in straight sets. This rivalry always seems to produce plenty of entertainment, but the surface favors Tsitsipas and another clay-court win for him should be in the cards.
Pick: Tsitsipas in 2
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs. Grigor Dimitrov
The top half of the draw was tougher on paper when this tournament started, but it is the side that ended up producing an all-unseeded semifinal contest. Dimitrov and Davidovich Fokina have produced multiple upsets along the way, the most notable of which was the Spaniard’s shocker of Novak Djokovic in round two. Davidovich Fokina, who defeated the world top-ranked Serb 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1, has also ousted Marcos Giron, David Goffin, and Indian Wells champion Taylor Fritz.
Dimitrov booked his spot in the last four with victories over Nikoloz Basilashvili (via second-set retirement), Dusan Lajovic (in three sets), Casper Ruud (6-3, 7-5) and Hubert Hurkacz (in a third-set tiebreaker). The only previous meeting between these two semifinalists came last spring in the Rome first round, were Davidovich Fokina prevailed 6-4, 7-6(2). That was part of a great clay-court run for the 22-year-old during which he reached the Monte-Carlo quarters, the Estoril semis, the Rome third round as a qualifier, and the French Open quarters. On this surface, Davidovich Fokina should once again be too good for the Bulgarian.
Pick: Davidovich Fokina in 3
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I’ll take Zverev in a tough 3 and ADF wins again, 2-0!
It’s a great SF day in MC….and Quarters were pretty dramatic as well….Tpas in 3; dtrov in 3.
I wonder the last time Dimitrov won 5 matches in a row.
ADF is a better player than the last time they met, too. Will be interesting to see if Dimitrov can turn the tables. He got revenge on Hurkacz and Ruud. Another revenge victory would be something else.
Dimitrov knew Ruud was a bit rusty on clay after an extended hardcourt season. He knew Hurkacz was more vulnerable on clay than any other surface, as well. Against ADF he doesnt have that advantage. The only advantage is his level of experience. However, ADF just beat 3 very experienced players, two of which were in very good form.
and ADF has beaten him before, so he will know what to expect.
Do you believe it? This should’ve been done and dusted; instead, he now finds himself in a dog fight with every prospect of losing.
Looks like ADF sorted out his issues with BP conversions, but now is learning how to serve out a match.
Dimi really disappointed me. The match was on his racket and somehow he managed to just throw it away!! Sigh!! He played so well in the second set and in beginning of third and then something just snapped and he lost the match!!!
As for Zverev, not sure what the heck he’s doing but if he keeps stalking Tsistipas by sending the ball to him each time well he’s going to go down meekly in two!! I have never seen anything more ridiculous!!! How in earth r any of these guys going to have a chance at RG with this type of play?!!!Smh!
Dimitrov had nothing in the tank and was riding the momentum on adrenaline. As soon as ADF held serve, the probability was always going to be high that he would get broken and the match would be over.
So, it wasn’t as bad as it seemed. If Dimitrov keeps playing like that he’ll be back in the top 20 in no time.
Cheering for adf tomm ..if tsitsipas wins tomm n Rafa dropping 500 next week at Barcelona,there will just be. 450 points seperating them ..rafa defends 1000 in Rome ..rafa then due to lack of play can drop to no 5 in rankings if he does not defend rome n if meddy plays rg
Yes, ADF shouldve won in 2 but in the end it was only 1 point separating them. If Dimitrov got the double break, the match was over.
The momentum swings in that match were as extreme as I’ve seen them.
Getting abs no update or positive progress on rafa is a real worry ..it’s now 25 days since the injury
And the recovery period was expected to be 4 to 6 weeks. No reason to think it isn’t on course.
I know i should not say this but lot of rafans got ahead of themselves n started dreaming of no 1 ranking as he won 3 in a row ..many on Twitter said it out loud..ofcourse they hoped well for him but these lofty expectations n hope just jinxed him (:- .even now I see a comment on twitter saying if rafa wins Madrid he goes to Rome as no 2 seed if meddy does not play . Here Rafa has not even said when he will play n PPL are talking abt winning Madrid ..just getting way too ahead always. In tennis at this age things can change in a minute with an injury ..please take it match by match and dont look too far ahead building castles in the air ..
Tsitsi n zverev level in MC is just poor though. It was a crap match full of errors .
Sanju, Rafa is going to come bk and play atleast Rome bf RG. He might even play madrid but even if he doesn’t. He’ll definitely play rome and French open. This is clay not hard courts. Rafa doesn’t even need a lot of match play to play and win the French open: Eg 2020 French open. He just needs to come bk and play atleast 1 tournament bf the French open and he’ll be ready. There’s nothing that suggests he will not play any clay court tournament including the French open. Let’s stop worrying. Rafa will be fine. Worrying doesn’t help anybody. Again, Rafa will be fine.
I dont want it like a 2016 where he had to pull out in R4. No one knows how he would feel round by round. Lets hope for the best
Yes, let’s all hope for that best that Rafa recovers fully and that he can whip himself back to form at least for RG! I’m not asking for much, his health is my primary concern! He’s won plenty of RGs, this year I want another Wimby cup!! Vamos!!
Okay I signup .rafa not to win rg but wins wimby. N yes no djoko for rg too ..anybody else can ..deal ? 🙂
Rafa will win wimby Mona ..just like he won AO when no one expected( last was 2009) . He will win wimby too as no one expects it (last was 2010)..am i crazy ..maybe i am..am i just dreaming ..maybe i am .but never say never..2022 will be a big year for rafa I am feeling,just like 2017 was for Roger ..i think it will be a mirror image year ..let’s see if it happens
Good news ..rafa has started practising today with the racquet .i am going to treat myself to rich plum cake with this news ..hehe
https://mobile.twitter.com/RafaelNadal/status/1516010626946150404
Sanju,
Well now that ought to make you feel better! Good news!
I think he may try to see if he’s ready for Madrid. But I am thinking he may wait for Rome. Rafa would love to win another RG. I have wanted another Wimby for him, but first AO! He got that. That loss to Novak in the semifinals at Wimby has never sat well with me.
Keep dreaming. Nadal will never win another Wimbledon. Grass is his weakest surface. You dont win majors on your weakest surface outside your prime.
Well I will. Who dued and made you God?
Nobody thought Rafa had a chance at this point in his career to win another AO. Don’t even try to argue that point.
You don’t get to tell me to stop dreaming.
Who DIED and made you God?
Do you have to pay tax if we dream? No right ,then please don’t tell us what to do…we will continue to wish a Wimby for him.
Nny. Any update on rafa from vamosbrigade. Here is one i found
https://mobile.twitter.com/EBollerup/status/1516711671678619658