Montpellier QF previews and predictions: Tsonga vs. Rublev, Goffin vs. Khachanov

A blockbuster quarterfinal matchup between No. 3 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and sixth-seeded Andrey Rublev is set for Friday in Montpellier. Familiar foes David Goffin, the No. 1 seed, and Karen Khachanov are also aiming for a place in the semis.

(6) Andrey Rublev vs. (3) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Tsonga and Rublev will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they battle for a place in the semifinals of the Open Sud de France on Friday. Rublev enjoyed a breakout 2017 campaign and he is showing no signs of slowing down this season, with a runner-up performance in Doha and a third-round showing at the Australian Open as the No. 30 seed. The 20-year-old Russian has advanced in Montpellier with straight-set victories over veterans Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Jeremy Chardy.

Momentum is something that Tsonga does not have on his side, as physical problems and the birth of his first child forced his attention away from tennis for much of last year. The 19th-ranked Frenchman is off to a decent start in 2018, having reached the third round at the Aussie Open before falling to Nick Kyrgios in four sets. Tsonga did well to scrape past countryman Nicolas Mahut on Thursday, surviving 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 7-6(4) in a match that did not feature a single break of serve. If this week’s third seed can turn in a similar serving performance, he may have just enough to hold off Rublev–but only because he has the advantage on playing on an indoor hard court in France.

Pick: Tsonga in 3

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(1) David Goffin vs. Karen Khachanov

Goffin and Khachanov will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers and for the fourth time in the last 12 months when they meet again on Friday. They faced each other three times in a two-month stretch during the 2017 campaign, with Goffin prevailing twice–6-4, 3-6, 6-3 at the Indian Wells Masters and 6-2, 7-6(8) on the red clay of Madrid. Those results sandwiched a victory for Khachanov, who got the job done 6-7(7), 6-3, 6-4 at the beginning of the clay-court swing in Barcelona.

Poised to start making a serious move up the rankings at 21 years old, Khachanov is sporting a nice 5-2 record early in 2018. Only Juan Martin Del Potro has beaten him (in Auckland and Melbourne), and the world No. 49 is through to the last eight in Montpellier thanks to defeats of David Ferrer and Ricardas Berankis. Goffin is hoping to bounce back from a surprising Aussie Open loss to Julien Benneteau, and that effort began in style when he took care of Pune champion Gilles Simon 6-4, 6-2 on Wednesday. The top-seeded Belgian has always been a force indoors, with three indoor runner-up performances in 2017–including at the Nitto ATP Finals, where he took down Roger Federer in the semis. That should give Goffin a slight edge in what is likely to be yet another competitive contest against Khachanov.

Pick: Goffin in 3

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