Three Germans–the maximum amount possible when the draw came out last weekend–are in the Munich semifinals. Saturday will feature Tommy Haas against Ivan Dodig and Philipp Kohlschreiber against Daniel Brands.
(3) Tommy Haas vs. Ivan Dodig
Haas and Dodig will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they meet in the semifinals of the BMW Open on Saturday. Their only previous encounter came earlier this season in Delray Beach, where Haas prevailed 7-6(6), 2-6, 6-1. The 35-year-old German has continued to play well since a semifinal finish in Delray, as he reached the fourth round in Indian Wells and the semis in Miami. Haas, ranked 14th and seeded third this week, lost his Houston opener but is finding the range on clay in Munich with wins over Ernests Gulbis and Florian Mayer.
Dodig is in the midst of arguably his best 2013 tournament, although he did reach the third round at the Australian Open and at the Indian Wells Masters. The 56th-ranked Croat has not come close to losing a set in Munich in victories at the expense of Nikolay Davydenko, second-seeded Marin Cilic, and No. 5 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov. Dodig had been just 1-2 on clay for the year prior to this week, with a first-round exit in Monte-Carlo and a second-round showing in Barcelona. The underdog may be in great form this week, but this is a considerable step up in competition–even from Cilic and Dolgopolov at the moment–and Haas is playing inspired tennis at home.
Pick: Haas in 2
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Daniel Brands vs. (4) Philipp Kohlschreiber
Brands and Kohlschreiber will be squaring off for the second time in their careers on Saturday. Kohlschreiber won their only previous meeting 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of this same event back in 2010. He reached the Munich quarterfinals that year, which is actually a below-average result by his standards. This is one of Kohlschreiber’s best tournaments; he owns a 19-6 record, which includes titles in 2007 and 2012. The 21st-ranked German is back in the semifinals following straight-set wins over Evgeny Korolev and Viktor Troicki.
This is the second Munich semifinal for Brands, who fell one set short of the title match in 2009. The 69th-ranked German lost his openers in 2010, 2011, and 2012, but so far this week he has taken out Tobias Kamke, Gael Monfils, and top-seeded Janko Tipsarevic–all in three sets. Brands, a semifinalist in Doha and a recent quarterfinalist in Bucharest, is 12-8 at the ATP level this season. Current form may give a slight edge to the underdog, but Kohlschreiber could not be more comfortable at this event and clay is probably the surface he would pick to face this particular opponent.
Pick: Kohlschreiber in 3
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